Of Humans, Faunus, and Kaijuco
by Zaden - The Shade Personified
Summary: Existence... it is an easy to word take for granted. After all, you see such a small part of this thing called existence. So, you act as if there's nothing else. You believe yourselves special... the lone jewel within the infinite mountain. Yes, you are special... in your own way... but, by no means are you alone. For the Omniverse is limitless... and so are its possibilities...
1. A World of Bloody Evolution

AN: Hello my fellow Fanfic-ers, good morning, good afternoon, & good night (depends on when you're reading this)... my name is Zaden and I am new to the fanfic writing world. I am in no way, shape, or form unfamiliar with the fanfic reading world, though. I have avidly read the works of others for the past 3 years, which are, by no small margin, what inspired me to write my own stories, so I thank you all for showing me the true potential of imagination... Okay enough of my fluffy ramblings, START THE STORY!

P.S: My first story, so an experienced BETA would be a highly welcome help, also don't expect anything even remotely close to regular updates until summer break, *sigh* school is such a pain. This is still just a hobby, though, so until I get used to writing on a regular basis, do not expect a constant flow of updates at any time, just keepin' it real.

(Constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged)

* * *

I do not own RWBY, Bleach, Deadpool, or Metal Gear (A small part of me dies as I type this... depressingly true statement); they are owned by RoosterTeeth/Monty Oum (may his soul rest in peace), Tite Kubo, Marvel, and Konami. However, I do own any original characters and concepts that I place in this story. (And yes, that means that this is gonna be a shameless "self"-insert... got a problem you can leave.)

* * *

Chapter 1: A World of Bloody Evolution

Five… that is how many worlds I have been a guest in. Not "worlds" in the astronomical sense, however, I mean that in the dimensional sense - my experience with space isn't lacking, though. My name is Jadon Zarhko; and being reborn in different universes is one the perks of my new job: Keeper of the Omniverse.

Most people have at least heard of the term "multiverse" - the existence of infinite universes; But, I'm talking about the "Omniverse", which includes every multiverse, dimension, pocket dimension, plane of existence, so on and etcetera.

But... I'm guessing you want to know about my job now. I am just one of an infinite legion created to maintain balance in the omniverse; but, we're not your typical heroes in shiny white armor. No, we are those who walk the middle. We are not good nor are we evil.

All beings have an inherent energy signature, from the void-like black to the neutral gray, to the radiant white. Sometimes there are events that rip these beings from their home realities; depending on the energy of that being, they are sent to a dimension outside of conventional time: Aurium, Centra, or Malignus. Those whose souls have more positivity end up in The Aurium, the ones with a greater amount of negativity are sent to The Malignus, and those that possess both reside in The Centra.

But what do I mean by maintaining balance, you ask? Well, Centra is responsible for preventing Aurium from overtaking Malignus and vice-versa.

Many people believe that Good is meant to erase Evil. But... they fail to consider one fact; yes, too much darkness can kill, however, too much light can blind. The omniversal consequence of excess, though, is an utter collapse. And that's what The Centra is for, we're the failsafe. We get deployed when the other two try to get uppity and screw with the realities.

This time, though, I think I might have some trouble. Everyone usually becomes a pro after their 3rd mission, and I was no different. Having said that, I got thrown a bit of curveball this time around. You see… on this mission, I have to neutralize a squad of Malignus agents, and usually, they only work in teams of one.

Soooo, the boss saw fit to even the odds. Which means that I have to leave my comfort zone, and be a-

"Hey, fearless leader! Are we there yet!?"

… Team. Player…

* * *

Jadon can be seen leaning on a windowsill inside a crowded airship, watching the cityscape of Vale pass by as it flew. Even among the colorfully varied passengers, he seems to stand out quite a bit; his lanky 6' 4" frame making him one the tallest there, for one. He wore a sky-blue, sleeveless hooded jacket, which had a special design on the back - a bellowing yellow dragon, two thunderbolts crossing behind it.

The rest of his body was covered in a skin-tight, cobalt-trimmed, black suit that revealed his lithe muscle-structure. It came with gray armor panels attached to the chest, elbows, abdomen, and knees; his feet being in a pair of steel-toed shoes that were attached to suit itself. A gold band, with what looked like two rectangular cartridges on each side, went around his waist line. He also had a pair of bracers - one on each forearm - the same color as his jacket. Jadon's suit continued up his neck, the back of his head, and around his cheek bones. It stopped at the ears and connected to a pair of round, metal ear cuffs. A metal plate protruded from the cuffs and encompassed his jaw-line.

He wasn't bad looking, either. Bronze complexion, tousled chestnut hair, long chin, full lips; many would say he looked like a male model. A visual that was only further enhanced by his exotic eyes - the right being lightning-yellow, and the left an electric-blue - that seemed to glow with untamed power. Jadon's handsome visage was only marred by one thing; a thick, pink scar over his right eye that went from his above his eyebrow, to just above his mouth.

Overall, he looked like some sort of awesome, sci-fi... space-warrior. Which begs the question: Why is everyone giving him an eight-foot, or more, wide berth and terrified glances every now and then?

Well, it's probably because of the thick atmosphere of murderous intent that he seemed to be releasing in waves.

An irritation that seemed to be majorly caused by the one person who wasn't leaving him alone. A young man - shorter by a couple inches, older by a couple years - with hair a few shades lighter than Jadon's, brown eyes, and olive skin. Square jaw, light stubble, round nose, dirty blond hair in a crew-cut; he was pretty handsome, too. The offender was clad in a red tank-top with a black stripe down the front, army green cargos, fingerless leather gloves, and black combat boots; he could pass for a civilian if it wasn't for the pair of rifle-katanas strapped to his back. His logo was stitched onto the pockets of his pants; a red-stroked black circle with a red line down the middle, and a smaller, white circle on each side of that line.

"Well?"

Jadon sighed at the probing, his threatening aura seeming to dissipate as he did so. He looked at his compatriot pointedly, "No, Wade. For the fifth time. We're still not ther-"

"But it's been hours," the now named Wade pouted, crossing his arms.

"It's only been twenty minutes… why are you so antsy anyway?"

"Cause, from what I've heard, this place makes some awesome chimichangas," was his reasoning; pulling a piece the same food out of nowhere, along with a neon 'awesome' sign, to illustrate his point.

Jadon pinched the bridge of his nose, a rumbling growl emanating from his chest. Why him? There was a literally infinite number of people that he could have been saddled with. But nooo, he had to be assigned Wade - goddamn - Wilson, as one of his squad.

"Careful FL, too much frowning'll ruin your pretty-boy face!"

Before he could lunge at the psychopathic smartass and strangle him, though, a third voice rang from behind them.

"Gomen, Jae-san. But, I'm afraid that your gonna have to wait your turn if you want to kill that one."

They turned to see the new arrival emerge from the crowd. The guy was several inches shorter than both Jadon and Wade, had an orange mop with white streaks on his head, peach skin, and eyes colored a sickly yellow. His face seemed to be set in a permanent, light scowl that contrasted his tone of amusement.

He, like Jadon, was also in a fairly unique outfit. His body was enveloped in a black, shin-length shihakushō with white inner-lining, and a white undershirt beneath it. He also wore a pair of dark gray dress-pants, and brown slippers on his feet. His logo was on the front of his undershirt: a black skull with a diagonal crack through the right eye.

Wade snorted at the claim, "You and fearless leader are welcome to try, Carrot," he brought his hand up to examine his nails, "You won't get very far, though."

"Besides, Ichigo, he's not worth the effort."

"Yea- Hey! I resent that you di-"

"What are you three arguing about now?"

All three fell silent once more as they looked left at the fourth and final member of their squad. He appeared to be the second shortest of the four - a couple inches taller than Ichigo. His platinum white hair was swept back and to the right; complimenting his pale skin - well, the skin you could see, anyway. His eyes were blue with a glacial gaze, almost seeming to be void of life; something that was fairly disconcerting to many.

His dress wasn't nearly as outlandish as Jadon's, or even Ichigo's, but, it was odder than Wade's. A dark gray high-collared trench coat that hid his lower-jaw and covered most of his body. White pants with bandages wrapped around the knees covered his legs, and a pair of gray combat boots were on his feet. A sheathed ninjato could be seen under his coat. His symbol, a silver tanto inside a gear-esque outline, was emblazoned on the jacket's right-breast.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the new arrival, "Still going with the 'cold and distant' act, huh?"

Jadon scoffed at Ichigo's bewilderment, "Ichi. This is Raiden you're talking about; That's pretty much his only act."

Wade piped up, "Yeah. Duckbutt here is a really one-dimensional character, unlike muà."

They saw Raiden's eyes briefly flash a blood red as he visibly tensed at their collective criticism. "Count yourselves lucky that we're working together," he glared pointedly at each of them, "you wouldn't have tongues to speak with otherwise."

They glared back with equal intensity, a palpable rolling off the group. It went on for a minute before Wade was distracted by -

"BOOBIES!"

Silence.

… The entire airship looked at him in confusion before following his gaze. He seemed to be staring at a young blonde who indeed had a nice rack. They proceeded to make a path for said blonde when she started sauntering towards the idiot, an undeniably false smile on her face. A simple glance from her smoldering, red eyes was enough to make even the bravest man wet himself. Good thing Wade wasn't brave, just stupid.

(Hey! If you keep flipping me the bird, I'll write you dancing ballet in a tutu, while singing "The Nutcracker"!)

Wade proceeded to slowly lower the finger he had subtly given the author behind his back.

Good choice.

"And what's your name, handsome?"

The young huntress's strained query apparently didn't faze the crimson-clad halfwit. In fact, he stood up a bit straighter and puffed up his chest. An air of severely misplaced bravado enveloping him before he verbally signed his own death warrant.

"The names Wade, Wade Ogaleesha, and I have many titles. Sex god, hero, mercenary, champion skeeball player. But you, sweet cheeks, can call me dad-"

He didn't get to finish that last sentence before a fist buried itself in his face...

...sent him sailing across the room...

...And face first into the opposite wall.

Wade's limp body seemed to stick to the wall for a moment, somehow defying physics. Then, his weight finally took effect; slowly peeling him off the wall to land on his back. It would probably take days to buff out the Ogaleesha-shaped dent he left in the steel.

Yang slowly stood back up from her vicious right hook, a beam of satisfaction sitting on her face. The unnaturally strong woman absently flipped her hair as she sauntered over to Wade's prone form. Once she reached him, she crouched down and gave her own introduction.

"Hello, Wade. My name is Yang Xiao-Long, and I have many titles, too. The badass babe, the human dynamite, matchstick, firecracker, and so on. But, the next time you call me 'sweet cheeks', I'll neuter you. M'Kay?"

She didn't wait for a response, getting up and strolling back towards a small girl in a red cloak. As she walked away, though, Wade weakly raised his hand in a fist, extended his thumb and pinky, then groaned, "Call... me..." Yang was already too far away to hear him.

Dropping his arm, Wade opened his eyes to see his squad standing over him, with varying degrees of glee on their faces. Jadon, who seemed to be enjoying his predicament the most, verbalized the thought on everyone's mind, "Wade... you're an absolute, fucking dumbass. You know that?"

The merc only grinned, "Damn straight…"

* * *

Despite that bit of drama, the ship quickly went back to normal. Resulting in a mostly peaceful ride, excluding that sobering announcement about the master thief, Roman Torchwick, - who Wade spitefully called "Drag King" - and when this blonde guy tossed his lunch near the end of the trip.

Jadon could now be seen following the crowd out of the airship with his team, which had docked at his squad's final destination.

Beacon Academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Jadon new from the catalogs that the place was beautiful, but he still had to take a moment to admire the stunning campus. He and his colleagues were currently standing in the overlook plaza, which had a breathtaking view of the land. Being situated on a cliff upriver from Vale, you could not only see the entire city but the surrounding lush forest that the kingdom was famous for. The emerald green of the canopy slowly tapered off to an auburn red as you looked northwest to see the Emerald Forest shift into Forever Fall; home of the tastiest sap in the four kingdoms. But, that was just the beginning.

Jadon turned to the left some more to get a look at the academy itself; he was not let down in the slightest. The school was, really, a grand castle that stood proudly in the afternoon sun; a monumental clock-tower sprouted from the middle of the structure, only adding to the majesty of Beacon's architecture. In short, this was the ideal place to teach the young men and women that are to become Remnant's lights of hope.

Jadon continued to admire the scenery. After he was finally used to the sight, he spun to address his motley crew, "Alright guys, where do we-" only to see three empty spots where they had been standing before.

"You have got to be kidding…"

'That's just great,' he fumed, ' "the team that will help me preserve this world" my scaly ass!' Jadon started quivering in barely contained rage, he had half a mind to track down the three deserters himself; too bad there wasn't enough time between now and orientation to do so. Besides, they'd turn up eventually, like always, so it would be young warrior sighed in exasperation, his anger ebbing as quickly as it had risen, "I guess it's me and only me," a ghost of a smile graced his lips at the thought of peace, however, temporary it may be, "just how I lik-"

*CRASH*

'Oh, come on…'

He turned again, but this time to check out whatever made that noise. After a couple minutes of walking, he saw two girls having heated argument. Well, more like a red-cloaked girl getting a one-sided scolding from a girl in the white bolero and dress.

Jadon would've, normally, dismissed it and kept walking. The thing is, the girl in white was waving a vial of extremely volatile dust around while standing next to over-a-dozen more cases of it. 'Bad idea' was an extreme understatement.

He took a step and blasted forward, not wasting a second. Panic rose in him; the girl-in-red was starting to sneeze! 'Faster… Faster!' With a final push, he shot past them; little more than a black and blue blur.

'Got it!'

He skidded to a stop just past the two students, the vial clutched in his left hand and a potential crisis averted.

The girl-in-white stood there for a second, unsure of what just transpired. She turned to look at him, then back at her hand, then back at him once more. After a couple more repetitions, her eyes widened in realization, "How dare you! Do you not know who I am!? I am Weiss Schn-" Jadon wasn't having it.

"Well, maybe next time, you shouldn't shake about a vial of dust - the most explosive substance on Remnant, mind you - while standing next to a dozen more cases of it." He shook his head at the rising anger that was gradually twisting her features, and made one last jab, "I thought a Schnee would know not to do something that stupid."

If he was to take her explosive response as an indicator, the heiress didn't much care for his shenanigans

"Why you- you- you… CRETIN!" She walked up to him, smacked the dust from his hand, and jabbed a finger into his chest, ignoring his height advantage completely, "I will not stand for such criticism, especially from someone as rude as YOU!"

Jadon glared down at the girl. She just invaded his personal space… she just invaded his personal space…

'Must… kill… slowly.'

"Okay, princess… time t-"

"It's heiress, actually."

Jadon turned his head to the new individual, quickly erasing the look of bloodlust that had taken root on his features when the heiress invaded his personal space. She was lucky that interference had arrived. Blood would have been spilled, otherwise. A raven-haired girl with golden eyes and olive skin was standing a few feet away, a book held in one hand and the same vial of dust that the whiny brat had slapped from his grip in the other.

The girl continued reading her book while she talked, "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, specifically. Famous for being the largest Dust supplier in the four kingdoms-"

Weiss smirked at the girl, "Finally, some recogni-"

The girl snapped her book closed, "As well as its controversial labor-force, and questionable business partners," The ravenette subtly smirked at Weiss's horrified expression.

The Schnee looked between them, seemingly at a loss how to defend herself from two verbal assailants. So she did the smart thing; retreat.

With a scoff, Weiss turned on her heel and stormed towards the academy; her attendants, who had oddly escaped Jadon's notice, scrambling to gather the dust cases and follow.

Jadon watched the brat for a moment as she stomped away, his hands still itching to throttle her. After determining that she wouldn't return, he began to rotate toward the ravenette to thank her for the assistance; only to find that she was already walking away. Eh, it didn't really matter anyway.

With that little issue out of the way, Jadon went to address the girl-in-red. "Hey, you okay, lady?"

The girl diverted her attention from the Schnee's fading form to him, "Yeah… yeah, I'm okay!"

She fixed Jadon with a surprisingly bright grin, "Thanks for the save, Mr….?" He recognized the hidden question.

"The name's Jadon Chimalis," he flashed a lopsided smirk, "aaannd, you are?"

"Oh, right! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose," she stuck her hand out for a handshake," It's nice to meet you Jadon!"

He chuckled at her cheer before clasping her hand, "It's nice to meet you too, Ruby."

His smirk turned to an honest smile at meeting someone so kind, 'Maybe… maybe today won't suck after all," he hoped.

* * *

"-then my friends ditched me,"

"Well, that's a mean thing to do!"

Ruby was walking down the path to the school with her new friend, Jadon; making friendly conversation along the way. He was actually pretty awesome! Definitely a lot nicer than that mean girl from earlier. What was her problem anyway? Ruby apologized a lot for falling on her luggage, but Weiss wouldn't stop screaming at her!

"Friends are supposed to stick together. Right?"

The young man shrugged at her accusation, "Yeah, but I don't blame them. All four of us have somewhat lone-wolf personalities. In all honesty, I would've been surprised if they hadn't ditched me. They probably just wanted some peace and quiet."

Ruby cocked her head to the side in confusion. That description didn't match his attitude at all, though, "But… you seem friendly enough to me."

He released a deep chuckle, "Only to the people I enjoy being around."

Ruby giggled, ducking under her hood to hide the rosy tint on her cheeks. Why did her new friend have to be so... cool?

"Ahhh, shucks. You're too nice."

He laughed loudly, probably at her awkward, but then his brows furrowed in thought.

"Hey, Ruby. Can I ask you something? It's been bothering me for a bit."

Ruby was still trying to make her face go back to normal, "Hmmm?"

"Weren't you with that blonde girl - Yang, I think her name was - on the airship? I thought I saw her standing with you."

Ruby removed her hood as her smile turned sheepish, and started rubbing the back of her head, "Yep… she's my big sister! The coolest one around, too!" Then she thought about what Yang did as soon as they got off the ship, "Usually," she corrected.

Jadon looked at her as if she had grown two Grimm heads. Was there something on her face? "You're joking... right? Cause, there is no way you two can be related. From what I saw, it's genetically impossible." Ruby 'ohhed' in her head, that made sense. She could see what he meant, though; in fact, it's a pretty common reaction.

Yang was a tall 5'10", well-developed, had a light tan, long blond hair, and lilac - or red, if she was mad - eyes. She didn't seem to care much for modesty, to Ruby's occasional embarrassment; wearing a brown, leather crop-jacket with puffy sleeves. She usually had two golden bracelets over black fingerless-gloves on her hands, which were her dual shot-gauntlets, Ember Celica, in storage mode. The only thing that restrained her assets was a yellow tube-top with a burning-heart emblem on it. Her big sister is almost always in a pair of knee-high, leather platform boots that were the same color as her jacket, and black short-shorts. A leather belt that had a pleated half-skirt attached to it of the same material rested around her waist. Her outfit was never completed without that orange infinity-scarf around her neck, though.

Ruby, on the other hand, was a petite 5'3", had short, black hair that turned crimson at the tips, porcelain skin, silver eyes, and a - while still above-average - much smaller bust. She dressed quite conservatively, too; a black blouse inside a red-laced black corset, black red-trimmed skirt, dark red leggings, black knee-highs, a black belt with her silver-rose emblem as the buckle, and a billowing red cloak.

Nonetheless, she laughed as if he said something preposterous, "Nope! we're definitely related!"

Jadon's features twisted in disbelief, taking second to actually process that, "Uhh… If you say so?"

She laughed at his expense, then stopped walking, remembering something. Hadn't Yang attacked one of Jadon's friends earlier? She started nervously kicking the floor, "By the way, sorry about what she did to Wade," she mirthlessly chuckled, "She has some… anger issues. It's just Yang being... well, Yang."

Jadon stopped and pivoted, apparently giving up on the previous mystery. He looked at her for a second, making her squirm under his blank gaze. Then he just shrugged, again; seeming to not care less, "Eh, he deserved that; he's been through worse, too. Lord knows that I have wanted to do that for years; he's always doing something stupid, reckless, or a combination of the two," he brought a hand to his chin, "Actually, I'll have to thank Yang for that later; made the rest of the ride bearable. " Jadon shook his head, then returned to his original line of query, "So why aren't you with your sis? You seem like the kind of person who would rather stay with the people they know - particularly so while in a new place."

Ruby's face turned stormy, once again visualizing the way Yang left, "Well... let's just say: You weren't the only one ditched today."

'I guess she was right, though. I did actually meet someone pretty cool.'

The heterochromatic nodded in understanding, thankfully. Ruby didn't want to have to elaborate on it, "Gotcha."

They continued once more in companionable silence, a silence that was soon broken by a desperate yell from behind them.

"HEY, YOU TWO! HOLD UP!"

Ruby stopped a couple seconds before Jadon did, giving him a befuddled glance; an expression he returned in full. They faced the voice, only to see a fairly unimpressive blond guy in a black hoodie and blue jeans. On top of that, he had on white plate-armor that looked like it was bought from a back-alley vendor. She then noticed a blue-hilted blade in a white sheathe on his hip. He was running towards them at a shuffle, obviously exhausted. Wait… wasn't he the one who puked his guts out on the ship?

When the guy caught up, he just stood with his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath; a single finger raised in the universal sign for 'give-me-a-sec'. Ruby and Jadon stood with a cocked-head and raised-brow, respectively, as they waited.

With his breath finally back, the scraggly young man stood up again, giving an uneasy smile.

"Hi, there! I'm kinda lost, and was wondering if you two would help me get to the auditorium?" The duo he was speaking with turned to one another in consideration.

"Sure," was their unified reply.

Then, a mischievous grin painted Ruby's features, before she added, "Vomit Boy."

The new guy indignantly squawked at the jab, appalled by the nickname.

Jadon looked at her for a second, then turned to the mystery man. After a moment, he finally seemed to recognize him, "Oh… Ooohhh." He adopted a smile similar to hers, "Motion sickness? Dude… really?"

Vomit Boy crossed his arms and huffed, "It's actually a pretty common illness, thank you very little!"

The brunette of the group barked out a laugh, "Hah! Calm yourself, blondie. We're just messing with you. It's not the worst condition to have."

That seemed to placate the other young man, an anxious smile growing on his face, "Oh - heh heh - okay."

Ruby frowned in curiosity. Another possible friend, perhaps? "So… What's your name, anyway?"

'Vomit boy' straightened up, a smirk of obviously false bravado on his face, "The name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it."

Ruby gave him a flat look. Jadon voiced what they were both thinking, "Do they, Jaune? Do they really?"

Jaune deflated after being so brutally shot down, Ruby almost felt bad for him, "Well, no… But, they will! My dad told me that all I needed was confidence!"

Jadon sighed in what sounded, to her, like pity, "Jaune… the first rule of having a social life: You never, ever, trust dad's advice; under any circumstances." He winced, "Especially yours, apparently." Ruby fully agreed with that sentiment.

Jaune seemed puzzled, but nodded anyway, "Oh, thanks... I guess?" He then decided to get their conversation back to its original, less awkward, direction.

"What are your names, then?"

Ruby took this moment to get involved again, "I'm Ruby Rose." She walked over to her lofty companion and put her hand on his shoulder, "This tall fella is Jadon Chimalis."

Jadon threw up a peace sign, "Sup."

Ruby's eyes trailed down to the sword on Jaune's hip, 'hmmmm...' A light bulb went on in her head. "Hey, guys! I was wondering… what are your weapons? I think the best part of getting to know someone is seeing their weapon." She hoped they were awesome. They're probably not as awesome as hers; but, her baby does set a high benchmark, so she wouldn't judge.

Jaune looked at Jadon for an explanation, but he just shrugged. Well, Jaune didn't see any harm in it, "Ok." He pulled the sheath off his hip before removing the longsword with his right hand, then the sheath abruptly expanded in his left to become a shield. Ruby giggled when he fumbled, having to try and catch the shield. Once he caught it, Ruby listened intently as he began to describe the weapon, "This is Crocea Mors. It's kind of a family heirloom, passed down to every Arc son when they start Hunter training. It belonged to my great-great-gramps; he used it when he fought in the Great War. Not very fancy, but it's tradition."

Ruby was underwhelmed, "Well, I guess you gotta appreciate the classics, heh heh." Her eyes glinted as she took out her weapon, though; at first, it looked like a red and black box… but, then she extended it. Ruby smirked at the awe that played across her audience's' faces as she twirled her monstrous, eight-foot scythe around her back before slamming it into the ground, "This. This is Crescent Rose. My compactable, bolt-action, high-impact sniper-scythe with rifle-mode." She recompacted it and started nuzzling it like it was her child, "She's my beautifully fatal baby."

She looked up from her cuddling to see the two boys looking at her weird. Coughing in a futile attempt to dispel the awkward silence, she returned Crescent Rose to its place on her back before turning to Jadon, "Are you gonna shows us yours, Jadon?"

He smirked at them and clasped his hands behind his head, "Nnnope."

Ruby stood shocked for a moment. 'Did he just say no?' She crossed her arms, a pout on her face, "Oh come on! Why not!?"

Jadon bent down and tousled her hair - darn his tallness - and brought his other hand's finger over his lips, "Nobody's going to see it until initiation. I want a properly badass reveal for my incredibly badass weapon."

Well, that only made her more curious! Ruby decided to use her most potent interrogation method. Something so terrible that not even the most hardened Hunter can resist. A method that has been used to topple kings, and grind kingdoms to dust: The Puppy Dog Eyes!

He opened his eyes, only to be met with the dreadful visage of her unparalleled cuteness. Yet, after extended exposure, he… impossible... he seemed... unfazed!? You could even go as far as to say he looked… annoyed?

An assumption that was soon proven by his reaction, "Ruby… What are you? Like, nine, or something?"

Ruby's jaw dropped. It's impossible. No one can resist. No one! Then she realized what he had just asked. She quickly crossed her arms and humphed at him. "Uh, no. I'm definitely fifteen," was her incensed reply.

He scoffed at her, but then squinted as if he was replaying something in his head. She was about to ask what he was thinking, but he beat her to it.

"Wait… Did you just say fifteen?"

She sighed, but still answered his unnecessary question, "Yeah, uh-duh."

He snorted in surprise, "Here I thought that I would be the youngest student here."

It was her turn to be surprised, "Wai-wha?"

He chuckled in amusement at her expression, "I'm sixteen."

She took a moment to process that. She had become friends with probably the one person that could understand her own position. That's. So- "Awesome!" Ruby began bouncing in excitement, "That means I won't have to deal with being the bee's knees alone anymore! I have someone my age to talk to!"

In her excitement, Ruby was oblivious to the expression on Jaune's face. He looked as if the last light of hope in his life had just been savagely snuffed out. 'I really have no chance, do I? The normal students here are already powerful enough, now there are two young prodigies to compete with!?' He looked toward Jadon, 'And one of them is a damn, male supermodel!' Jaune's shoulders sagged even further as his face was enveloped in shadow. 'Fuck my life…'

Ruby finished her little celebration, still giddy over her salvation from social awkwardness. Then she saw Jaune moping. "Hey, Jaune. You okay?"

Jaune looked at her dazedly for a moment, "Huh?" As soon as he saw her expression, though, he put on a happy face, "Oh, uhh, I'm fine, I just, umm." His eyes started darting around for some reason, then he smiled, "I was, uh, just wondering when we were gonna to get going."

Ruby 'ahhed' in response, before reaching into a pouch on her belt to extract her scroll. She flicked it open and squinted at the time. Her eyes widened drastically when she saw it, then she disappeared. Speeding to each of her companions to drag them along, her only explanation being a hasty, "Come-on-come-on-we-gotta-go-we're-gonna-be-so-late-no-no-no-I-can't- be-late-on-my-first-day-Yang's-gonna-kill-me-" and in a cloud of rose petals, they were off.

* * *

Jaune was now dry-heaving into the auditorium's trash can, trying to recover from riding the Ruby Express all the way from the plaza. Jadon was standing behind him while patting his back in sympathy, muttering encouragement; if you looked closely, you could see a bit of green on his face, too. Ruby, however, was zipping through the crowd looking for her sister, calling out randomly while she did.

Jadon walked away from the now recovered - yet, wobbly - Arc; at least a little confident that the poor guy could make it on his own for a bit. He stood at the wall, observing Ruby as she searched, occasionally chortling under his breath. He couldn't fathom how she hadn't noticed Yang standing only five meters down the wall. After a couple more minutes of watching, he got bored.

Raising his arm to point at the voluptuous blond, he informed Ruby of her location, "Hey! Ruru! Yang's right over here!"

It didn't even take two, full seconds for a red blur to viciously tackle its sister to the ground with an astoundingly loud, "YAAANG!"

After they finished tumbling, he could see the younger sister embracing the older; a fluffy feeling tugging at the corners of his mouth at the touching scene. However, that fluffy feeling turned to worry once the smaller girl started tightening her grip around her sibling like a cobra would around its prey. A worry that was only compounded by the malicious leer that was on the petite girl's face. Jadon began to step forward, ready to intervene if things got violent.

He relaxed, though, after Ruby released her now blue-faced sister and stood, "That's, what you get for ditching me," justice appearing to have been served.

Jadon watched as Yang laid there for a moment, taking deep gulps of the life-giving substance known as air, before joining her sister in the act of rising. A lopsided grin of embarrassment split her face, and she raised her hand to rub her scalp, "Hehe. I guess I deserved that one, huh?" Ruby vigorously nodded in confirmation of the claim, making Yang chuckle apologetically.

Jadon walked toward the reunited sisters. He made sure to look completely relaxed and friendly with the threat of conflict now absent. Once he was within a couple feet of the two he prepared to give a greeting and introduction to the woman who had managed to make his trip on the airship worth it. However, he was forced to clamp his mouth shut when he got a white pamphlet on Dust shoved in his face.

"This is a pamphlet on the safe application of Dust in life, combat, and study-"

By all that is good and just in this world, please don't let this be who he thought it was.

"-The SDC takes no responsibility," Dammit, it was who he thought it was, "for any damages or injuries caused during the use of its products and strongly encourages that all customers memor-" He proceeded to tune her out, sitting through her speech with a twitch in his right eye. After what felt like forever, Weiss's unbearably whiny voice stopped. Jadon waited for a moment. Once he was sure she was finished, he responded with a rumbling growl, "Are you done?"

The white-haired heiress seemed taken aback at his hostility, but quickly schooled her features into a mask of neutrality, "Yes," and shoved the pamphlet closer to his face, "now take this. Read it. And never speak to me again."

That was it.

Jadon snatched the pamphlet from her hand. Tore it to shreds so ferociously that you would've thought it was responsible for genocide. Then threw the pieces with all the force he could muster…

Straight into the brat's face.

He took great pleasure in Weiss's expression, frozen in open-mouthed shock. Her disbelief slowly turned to unbridled rage; Jadon relished every moment. The girl started reaching for a fencing blade at her hip. Jadon clenched his hands into fists, small bolts of electricity flashing around them; he was going to enjoy beating the pompous girl to a pulp. Before they could do anything, however, a boisterous voice gave them pause.

"Hey, Weiss-cream!" Jadon was pretty sure it was Yang's voice.

The two stood still, continuing to eye one another with utter contempt, it looked they were still going to fight; but then, they turned towards the one who interrupted, grunting in apparent agreement to save this for later. When they finally stopped giving each other murderous side-eye, they gave the interloper their full attention. As Jadon had inferred, it was Yang.

Now that the literal blonde-bombshell had both his and the Schnee's attention, she took it as her cue to speak and flashed Weiss a disarming smile. "So, Weiss-cream cone. First, my sister tells me about how you were screaming at her in the plaza - for an accident she had thoroughly apologized for, by the way - and nearly got you both blown up. And now," she strolled over Jadon and leaned on his shoulder, "I find you harassing this tall glass of water; who my sister says saved you both from being blown up and became friends with her." The brawler's smile turned a little malevolent as she spoke, "So now I ask you:" she got off Jadon and started leaning over Weiss, "Do we have a probl-"

"Yang! Stop it!"

Yang was quickly pushed aside, and a frantic Ruby took her place.

"Look, Weiss. I'm really sorry about my sister - and earlier -but, I reeaally think we just got off on the wrong foot." The scythe-wielder stuck out her hand in the same gesture of friendship she had given Jadon, "So let's start over! Hi! My name's Ruby Rose! Want to be friends?"

Weiss gave Ruby's hand a flat look that lasted a minute; but then, a smile slowly spread across her face in what looked like actual friendliness. Jadon, however, could tell it was just plain fake.

"Yeah! Sure! We can paint our nails, go shopping, and talk about cute boys," she gestured at an aimlessly wandering and clueless Arc, "like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Her proposal was laden with spiteful mockery that nearly sent Jadon over the edge.

It saddened him to see the naive, yet genuine, glee that lit up Ruby's face at what she thought was an equally genuine acceptance of her friendship.

"Really!?"

As Jadon predicted, the Schnee was quick to mercilessly crush the young girl's hopes, "No." The bitch then turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.

Jadon kept himself from rushing after the brat in favor of staying with Ruby. He was about to comfort her but, Yang beat him to it.

The boxer wrapped her younger sister in one arm, "Don't worry about it, Rubes. Ice Queen over there doesn't deserve somebody as great as you. There are plenty of people here who would love to be your friend."

"Like me," Jadon added with a shrug and smile.

Ruby's downcast eyes brightened a little at the support, "Thanks, you two," she gave them each a grateful smile, "You're both awesome."

A loud feedback screech, followed by a, "Can I get your attention, please," caught their ears. All eyes looked toward the stage to see a gray-haired man with brown eyes and shaded spectacles - probably a professor if the black tux over a green shirt was anything to go by - leaning in front of the mic. Leaning, because of the black cane he was resting his body weight on.

All chatter stopped when the man spoke, "Hello. I am Headmaster Ozpin, and I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills," the speech sounded strange to Jadon, it seemed so… depressing, "And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction," his suspicion grew after that; this is the kind of speech you give to soldiers about to mobilize, "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As soon as the headmaster walked off stage, the mutterings of concern began. Jadon didn't blame them. Hell, he was just as wary as they all were. Why did he give a speech meant for troops to a bunch of college freshmen? It made no sense to the otherworlder.

Jadon pushed that puzzle to the back of his mind for later solving.

A stern-looking, green-eyed, pale-blonde women took the stage; looking, for all the world, like the stereotypical disciplinarian in her white dress shirt with a keyhole neckline, a black pencil-skirt, a purple cape, heels, leggings, and ovular glasses.

She began issuing instructions after the auditorium grew quiet again, "All new students are to report to the ballroom for the duration of the night. Stop in the locker room along the way to drop off your weapons, as well. We expect you to be ready by ten o'clock tomorrow morning to participate in the initiation exams. Dismissed."

And with that order, the crowd of first years exited the auditorium. Ready to turn in after the long day.

* * *

Ichigo was tired.

The orange-haired youth had swiftly gotten lost after he wandered away from his leader. The campus was just too damn big! How did anyone find their way around in this freaking place!?

Thankfully, he came across a herd of fellow lost students, after a long stretch of aimless roaming, that were making their way to the auditorium. He followed along as they made their way, regretting the fact that he hadn't stayed with his much more navigationally savvy captain.

Jae-san could be a sarcastic ass sometimes, but Ichigo respected his heart's tendency to be in the right place.

Ichigo emerged from his thoughts as the group of wayward freshmen finally got to the auditorium. It looked like they had missed a majority of orientation, though, as all Ichigo heard before everyone left was a blonde lady telling the crowd to gather in the ballroom for the night.

So once again Ichigo followed the crowd, this time to the ballroom.

Which is where he was now. He was glad to find that all his stuff was neatly stacked against the wall with everyone else's luggage, just meant that he won't have to go looking for it. As he removed his bag from the stack Ichigo turned to see his leader chatting up a pair of girls a little ways away; one of them being the blonde who punched Wade's light's out.

His scowl lightened for a moment, then he raised his hand in the air and waved, "Hey! Jae-san! Over here!"

His leader's head snapped in his direction, his eyes scanning the crowd for a second before they rested on Ichigo. He waited as Jadon turned to his female companions and exchanged quick farewells. Ichigo's young leader began moving towards him at a brisk walk, a frown decorating his features. Ichigo winced under the withering glare Jae gave him.

"You guys ditched me," he stated matter-of-factly.

Ichigo coughed into his fist, before responding; carefully gauging his words to avoid upsetting him, "Gomenasai. I wanted to get one last bit peace before the year got underway, ya know?" Jadon gave him an understanding smile - success - and sighed, "Yeah, I know."

Ichigo nodded. He was ready to set up for bed, so he pointed to ballroom floor, "Why don't we get out there and chose a spot for our stuff." Jadon grunted a confirmation before making his way to the floor. Ichigo remained still for a moment before following.

* * *

Wade was having a wonderful time in the ballroom! The world that the author had dropped them in was full of hot babes for him to enjoy! Not only that, but due to a lack of gender separation in their society, the girls were undressing… in the middle of the ballroom!

"Thank you, Author, for sending me to heaven."

(You're welcome, Wade.)

The merc had to restrain from openly drooling as he ogled the many supermodel level beauty's currently changing into their pajamas; he was discreetly taking photos of each lady on his scroll and burning them into his memory. 'That blonde from earlier is wearing a sports-bra and booty shorts. The carrot top over there is in pink, plunge bra and boyshort panties. An- wait… is that redhead in black lace! ...Best. World. Ever…"

As Wade's eyes swept over the crowd of sexy women he caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow dragon. Swiveling his head back towards the area he saw it in, he peered intently in that direction. After a few seconds of searching, he saw them. Carrot and Fearless Leader were camped out in the far corner, also dressed in their pajamas.

"Being a bit heavy-handed with the plot progression there, doncha think, Author?"

(Oh, just get over there Wade! And stop breaking the fourth wa-)

"But... aren't you writing that way in the first pl-"

(Wade!)

"Fine! Fine! Geez, somebody's having a Code Red." And with that, he disappeared.

In the next instant, he was standing behind his two squadmates, undetected. A sly grin spread across his mouth, this would be hilarious. He tiptoed towards them being careful not to disturb anything on the floor, crouching lower as he got closer. Once he was a couple feet behind them, he struck.

"SOO-PRIZE, MOTHAFU-"

*Fwoosh* *CRACK*

"AHH, fuck! You broke me goddamn snoz!"

Wade was writhing on the floor clutching his nose, which was bleeding profusely from the devastating double-backhand that his targets had given him. Said targets were looking at him with annoyance on their faces. Jadon didn't seem to find his act very convincing, "Wade… get up." He glanced at the eyes Wade's screaming was drawing, "You're causing a scene."

With a put out 'awww', he rose, his nose perfectly fine - if a little bloody. "Fuck you both. That actually hurt, dammit."

Wade saw Ichigo narrow his eyes at him before he spoke up, "That was the point, baka. What? You thought we did that by accident? It's what you get for doing dumb shit like that."

"Hey, Carrot," Wade gave the one addressed the bird, "Up yours."

Ichigo sighed at him, "It's too late for this. I'm going to bed," and slipped into his sleeping bag.

Jadon nodded in agreement, "Ichi's right, Wade. We have an early start tomorrow, so we have to get some sleep," then followed Ichigo's lead.

Wade was hoping to mess with them some more, but they were right, they needed to get some sleep before tomorrow. He prepared to get in his own sleeping bag, but then a thought hit him. "Hey, guys? Where's Duckbutt?"

All he got were two noncommittal grunts, "Hmm, whatevs I guess. Night, fellas."

And the lights went out.

* * *

Raiden watched from a nearby roof as the lights went out inside the ballroom.

Solitude was no stranger to the cyborg. He was always an outcast in any world he went to; be it because of his body, or because he was a killer.

He slowly unzipped the trench coat around his body, revealing the cybernetics that replaced over ninety percent of his being. He was an anomaly here as well. His squadmates were just as new to this world as he, but even they couldn't fully empathize with him. They could mingle with normal people, he couldn't. He was an outcast among outcasts, as always. However, he was an outcast with a mission. And before he was an outcast, he was a soldier; and like any good soldier, he will accomplish his mission.

It was with these heavy thoughts that the man-machine closed his eyes to await the dawn.

* * *

AN: So, what do you all think? Is this a good first chapter to a first story? I think it is. Please leave a review, follow slash favorite my story, etcetera; it'll help reinforce my will to write.

Also, send me your ideas for the four-man villain squad that the guys will be fighting in this story via review; I've chosen two already, but I've run dry on ideas. (No one to overpowered, though. Then they could just blow up Remnant and be done with it. Also, try to mix it up, I think it would be really dry writing if it was just the villains of each franchise) In the meantime: Breathe deep, live long, seek peace, let the Force guide you, and prosper young padawans.


	2. Initiation of Legends

**Chapter 2 - Initiation of Legends**

"Will all freshmen please report to the cafeteria, all freshmen report to the cafeteria."

Jadon's ears were assaulted by the chorus of groans that arose from the still-sleepy students. They're really gonna have to learn to be early risers if they're gonna lead the warrior's life. He, however, rose without a sound, his yellow and blue eyes alert with energy.

He did a couple quick stretches, the popping of joints signifying the release of his morning stiffness. With a satisfied sigh, Jadon gradually walked over to his duffel bag. It was time to get ready. He took a knee and unzipped his bag, removing his suit, shoes, and jacket with practiced ease. He removed his blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants, earning a quite a few stares from the female side of the room; and even some from the male side.

He couldn't suppress the smug grin at the attention - being fit had its perks.

Once his feet were through the suit's legs, he pulled up the torso and put his arms through the sleeves. Jadon grabbed the jaw guard, which was hanging from the neck portion of the suit, and held it to his face; reaching to the back of his head with his other hand to fasten it in place. Once the guard was secured, he pressed a button on the back of his neck, activating the magnetic locks that went down the suits spine.

Alright, that was his suit over with, now to slip into his jacket. He picked up the article of clothing and slide his arms into it. 'Done and done.'

He took that moment to look at his two present teammates… who were still fast asleep. How they slept through that announcement, he had no clue.

'Really?'

Jadon got to his feet with a grunt and walked over to Ichigo. Might as well get the most competent one up first. He crouched down next to the soul reaper and gently shook him awake, "Come on, Ichi, get up. We have to get breakfast and head over to the lockers to retrieve our weapons."

Ichigo slowly cracked his eyes open, grumbling something about 'evil mornings' while he rose. Once he rolled the kinks out of his shoulders, he shuffled over to his stuff to get dressed as well.

Jadon got up from his crouch and walked over to his final teammate. He eyed Wade's splayed out position with a frown, which turned to a leer as Jadon had a wickedly amusing idea. He swung a foot to give Wade a small, yet forceful, punt to the unexpected (and painful) wake-up call caused the merc cry out in surprise and pain. He stood patiently as he waited for Wade to finish hissing in pain. When he did stop, Jadon addressed him, "Wakey-wakey, Wadey!"

Wade mumbled something under his breath, but a threatening lift of Jadon's steel-toed foot shut him right up. He scrambled to his feet and walked over to his own bag, getting a chuckle from the squad leader.

Jadon, his task now complete, walked over to the window and leaned on the wall next to it; he'd just have to wait. A couple minutes later, the window squeaking open announced the arrival of the one he was waiting for. He spoke wIthout turning towards the window, "Raiden, you know you didn't need to sleep on the roof, right?"

The cyborg dropped to the floor, "I don't sleep."

Jadon shook his head, that deflection was painfully obvious; but he decided to leave the issue be, he had no desire to stir the ninja up. "You gonna walk with us, then?" He turned his full attention onto the robo-man, "We're heading to the cafeteria to eat, then to the locker room to gear up before initiation."

As Jadon had expected, his answer was short and blunt, "Yes, I will."

Well, the young leader could play that game too, "Alright, then."

Jadon turned back to his other two associates, now fully equipped and waiting to go. A smile graced Jadon's lips, time to rock the world. "Okay, guys. Let's move out."

Ichigo nodded, "Okay, Jae-san."

Wade threw a mock salute, "Sure thing, FL!"

Raiden remained stoic, "Right."

With that, Jadon led them out of the ballroom, ready to face the day.

* * *

Jadon was going to enjoy meals at Beacon.

The cafeteria was titanic, even larger than the ballroom if he had to hazard a guess. The entire wall opposite the entrance was lined with self-serve food bars, which had the kitchens right behind them. The food itself was delicious, made by some of the best chefs in Vale.

After finishing their food, Jadon and his squad headed for the locker room with everyone else. He, Wade, and Raiden had all luckily ended up with lockers that were next to one another when they dropped their weapons here the previous day. Jadon opened his locker eagerly, ready to have his weapons back. He took his bracers and deftly snapped them around his forearms, tugging them a couple times to make sure they were snug. Jadon went back into the locker, this time pulling out the two strange cartridges, which he puts back on his waistband.

Now fully armed, Jadon shut his locker and turned to his squad. Both Wade and Raiden were finishing with their equipment too. He turned to leave when he heard a sound like an object rushing through the air, straight at his exposed back. In split-second reaction, Jadon spun to his left. His eyes widening when he caught a glimpse of Jaune, of all people, flying by him. The otherworlder could only assume that he had pissed off the wrong girl with his attempts at flirting…

Bah, that's silly. Jadon had just told Jaune yesterday that that wouldn't get him anywhere. Why would he blatantly, and rudely, ignore him?

A moment later the thud and grunt of a body hitting a solid object resounded through the room; Jaune had been slammed, and apparently pinned, to a column by a red and gold spear. Jadon was about to go get him down, but a red-head in Roman armor brushed by him.

The new girl removed the spear from Jaune's hoodie, dropping him to the floor with a pained grunt. As she continued on her way, she whispered to him, "Again, I'm sorry." As the redhead left, Jadon saw Weiss trailing behind her, an arrogant sneer on her face. The young warrior had to resist the urge to violently wipe it off.

After they walked out the door, Jadon jogged over to Jaune - who was still sitting on the floor in a daze. He put the inept knight's arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet; frowning at how light the boy was. Once they were standing, Jadon asked his burning question, "What happened to you?"

Jaune shook his head and looked at Jadon. But, before he could explain, Yang walked over.

"Ladykiller here tried to charm the Ice Queen's heart," she snickered quietly, "calling her 'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start, though."

Jadon's eyes widened, then quickly narrowed… Jaune had completely ignored him…

With a sound like creaking wood, he slowly twisted his head back towards Jaune, who was giving him a nervous smile, "Oops?"

They stayed like that for a moment, staring at one another. Then Jadon dropped him back to the ground. With a quick glare that made Jaune sweat, he turned to leave. While he opened the door to leave, Jadon looked at Jaune over his shoulder, "Next time: don't ignore me..." and walked into the hallway; going slow so his team could catch up.

Of course, they insisted on asking questions once they did, Wade leading the effort, "What was that all about, FL?"

And along came Ichigo with the follow-up, "Yeah, Jae-san, it's kinda weird for you to get annoyed like that so easily."

Jadon considered ignoring them for a moment, but decided it wasn't worth the effort, "I gave him some advice, he ignored me," and settled for blunt brevity.

His inquisitors could only turn to with one another with raised brows, then shake their heads.

"I still don't understand how, of all things, _that_ is your trigger," Ichigo shrugged, "It's kinda childish."

Jadon just walked faster.

* * *

Jadon peered over the cliff edge that led into the Emerald Forest; it was a long way down, to say the least. He had yet to figure out exactly what the test even was, but he knew it had to do with the metal plates they were all forced to stand on.

He turned his head when Glynda coughed for their attention, listening intently.

"Now, I know you all have heard the rumors circulating about the assignment of teams. Well, let me clear that up right now: You're all getting your teams… today."

Jadon snorted when Ruby's cry of disbelief reached his ears, but quickly turned to the enigmatic headmaster.

"This team will be with you for the next four years at Beacon, so you would benefit from a healthy match-up," He paused, eyeing them all briefly before continuing, "That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with upon landing will be that match-up."

Jadon had to restrain an outright laugh when he heard Ruby yell 'What!'

Huh, This ought to be entertaining.

Glynda spoke again, "Post partnership, your goal in this is to make it to the other side of the Emerald Forest. There you will find a temple with relics inside, each pair is to retrieve one and bring it back. Also, please be polite enough to make it through this alive."

Correction.

This most definitely will be entertaining.

Ozpin gestured at them all with his mug, "Any questions?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, but Jadon wasn't surprised at who actually took it seriously.

Jaune tried to get Ozpin's attention, "Uh, yes, sir I-"

While Ozpin pretended he didn't exist, "Good! Let's begin."

The snap of the first platform made Jadon's heart beat faster. He watched as the Schnee heiress went flying through the air.

Jaune wouldn't be swayed though, "Soooo… The landing. W-will you be dropping us off?"

Another twang sounded, another student went flying.

Ozpin's smile grew ever so slightly, "No. You'll be falling."

Jadon's superior senses allowed him to actually smell the blonde knights fear, "Oh, Ok... So... do we get parachutes… or something?"

The next two platforms activated, sending the ginger with the grenade launcher and the green-clad Mistrali over the forest.

The headmaster shook his head, "No, you will be landing all on your own."

Jaune, somehow, still didn't get it... that, or he didn't want to believe it, "Uhhh… ok."

As Jaune contemplated his next question, six more springs fired; flinging two unknowns, Yang, Ruby, and Jadon's three teammates skyward.

Jaune, his turn now upon him, try to stall with one last question, "So how do we do tha-AHHHHHHHhhhhhhh…" before being tossed into the ether with a girlish shriek.

Ozpin just took another sip of his apparently infinite coffee, earning a rueful shake of the head from Jadon, "You enjoyed that."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the man's lips, "A little."

Jadon laughed, then reeled in his concentration; it was finally his turn. Time slowed as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes in preparation. He crouched down low to the platform, tensing every muscle in his body. He was going to maximize his distance by adding his own force to the equation. That way, he'd end up much closer to the objective.

His eyes snapped open when he heard the platform release. Time to fly.

With a pump of his legs, he flew off the cliffside. Leaving a gust of air and a mangled platform in his wake.

Ozpin raised a brow at the display. It was a rare sight to see... power like that. It was… intriguing.

He addressed his trusted assistant without turning from the forest, "Glynda… What is that last student's name?"

He listened as Glynda went through the student data on her scroll. A few taps and swipes later, she found who she was looking for, "Jadon Chimalis. Male. Sixteen years. Passed the early entrance exam with flying colors. A promising student indeed."

Ozpin's face turned contemplative, "Hmmm..."

'Jadon Chimalis... I look forward to seeing what you are truly capable of.'

* * *

"WHOOOO-HOOO, HA HA HAA!"

Jadon whooped as he flew. The feeling of the air as it rushed by him was exhilarating. He passed by everyone a while ago, his speed far exceeding theirs after his jump. He could see the temple from his place in the sky, only about six miles away by his estimate. Once he landed, it'd only be a short sprint away. Well… short for him, not necessarily for normal people.

Jadon's focus returned when he noticed that he was starting to fall, his momentum dropping rapidly. "Well that high didn't last long," he sighed. He flipped his body so that his feet were facing the canopy, and prepared for impact.

He crashed through the smaller branches of a tree before his leading foot found purchase on a solid limb. He bent his knees with the collision, dissipating the force. His momentum now fully halted, Jadon shifted his weight and redirected it. He jumped from limb to limb and fell the last six meters to the ground, tucking into a roll and popping to his feet.

He dusted his jacket of any dirt from the roll, "Wooh, Easy peasy."

Placing his hands on his hips, Jadon took that moment to determine his surroundings. As he expected, the trees were densely packed together and blocked most of the light from the sun. A chuckle escaped him as Ichigo crossed his mind, 'With his sense of direction, he'll be walking in circles for hours.' Jadon had made sure to stay oriented towards the temple while landing to avoid the same thing.

The area now observed, Jadon crossed his arms and mentally laid out his choices. He had two options, he could go wander about the forest looking for one of his squadron to partner with… or, he could head straight for the temple and retrieve an artifact, then find one of his squad. He stood there debating which one would be best.

Then his astute senses were put on full alert.

Jadon's reaction was instantaneous. All the mirth drained from his face as he activated his bracers, gun-barrels appearing on both with a whir, and tensed his muscles for action. He stood stock still, trying to appear oblivious to whatever possible enemy might be surveying him.

Moments later, he heard what got his attention, a faint rustling of leaves to the left and behind him. He stuck with his act, listening as the sound moved to right behind him, staying downwind… and stopped.

He struck.

With a swift pivot on his right foot, Jadon was facing the noise's last location, both bracers raised and ready to fire. He scanned the brush, looking for any sign of threatening movement. When nothing happened, he called out with a calm monotone, "You have three seconds to make yourself known before I obliterate you!" The rustling started again, this time with much more urgency.

"Three…" The noises got closer.

"Two..." They started picking up speed.

"One…" It was almost upon him.

"Zer-"

"DON'T SHOOT!" and there it - no - he was.

A dirty, leaf-covered Wade burst from the bushes, panting with exhaustion. Basically, he looked like he had a rather unfortunate incident with a tree, George of the Jungle style. He stood with his hands up and eyes wide, "Don't. Shoot. It's just me."

Jadon scoffed but lowered his weapons; his stance relaxing as he did so. He wasn't gonna get anything out of shooting Wade, he needed a partner from his squad anyway. Besides, getting expelled from Beacon for killing another student was a definite no-no… no matter how badly they irked him.

"Don't tempt me," he took in Wade's roughed-up look and raised his brow, "What happened to you?"

Wade put his hands down and sighed in relief. When he stood back up, his expression had changed to one of embarrassment, "I - uh - failed my landing strategy."

Jadon kept staring at him, face unchanging. Wade was about to ask if he was okay, "BWAHAHHAHHAHHAAAHHAHHH," when his leader doubled over in laughter. The merc's expression quickly turned sour when he realized he was being mocked, "Yeah, Yeah… Laugh it up, FL."

Jadon did so.

'Fucking dick-waffle...'

' **Agreed…** ' A white text box, with a deep, baritone voice, said.

' _Hear, hear…_ ' A yellow text box grumbled in a squeakier version of Wade's voice.

It took a couple minutes for Jadon to recover enough to speak properly, "W-Wade you - heh - l-look like y-you tried to f-fight a tree, and - hah - lost, m-man. Wheww, eh heh." Wade still wasn't amused, "Aren't we supposed to be looking for some relics, sir." Jadon recognized his point and took a deep breath to calm down, "Yeah… Yeah, we should get going," his smile came back, "Just wait till I tell the others."

Jadon almost had another laughing fit at Wade's expression, "Uh-huh. Chop-chop FL, we're on a schedule." The merc spun on his heel and started walking, but before he could make it more than five feet, a strong hand yanked him into the bushes by the shirt.

Wade yelped in surprise and started to fight his assailant, but was quickly subdued when he heard Jadon's harsh but quiet voice.

"Wade, Shut! Up! We got incoming."

Jadon let go of Wade's shirt once he stopped struggling, and both settled into a crouch as they observed the clearing. They only had to wait a couple seconds before a Boarbatusk popped out of the bushes a ways away. It would be a good idea to wait just to make sure it was-

Jadon tensed when he heard Wade snort, "Really, FL? It's just a little piggy. If it'll make you feel better; me, Vanessa, and Carlysle will make it go 'wee wee wee' all the way home."

Jadon couldn't believe it when Wade stood up and started walking towards the damn thing. He called after the idiot in a hushed tone, "Wade! Wade! Get the fuck back here, damn it!"

Wade just started walking backward to address his leader, "Come on man, I got this," and turned back around, unsheathing his weapons with a twirl. Then he started yelling, "HEY YOU OVERGROWN PIECE O' BACON! OVER HERE!"

Jadon was left in shock, 'Brainless idiot! Even he's gotta know that Grimm are almost _never_ alone!'

Wade's tactic was a success, the Boarbatusk spun right to him, taking a charging stance, "SSSCRRROOOOAARR!" Too bad that that wasn't the only attention he got.

Wade visibly paled as a massive black shape started lumbering through the forest. He stood frozen in fear as one thought ran through his mind, 'I done fucked up, now.'

' **Incredibly so.** '

' _Damn our stupidity._ '

The idiot barely registered the hand that grabbed him by the shoulder and the voice accompanying it, "WADE! Come on man, move your ass!"

Jadon shook him once more before scoffing and taking off into the forest. Wade just kept staring slack-jawed at the beast... then he realized he was now a party of one.

"Jadon!? Oi! Wait for me!" He spun and took off after his partner

They didn't look back; but if they had, they would have seen an enormous spike skewer the Boarbatusk that was about to give chase.

* * *

Ichigo was pissed.

The reason for that being his current predicament.

Really...

Really...

Really...

Lost.

He muttered to himself in frustration as he smacked another frickin' branch out of his aimless path, "God damn forest. God damn bugs. Damn tall-ass trees..." The shinigami had been wandering for the past… he didn't know how many hours, and in that time had yet to come across a single person or animal. Hell, even a Grimm would be welcome at this point.

"At least then I would have something to vent on…"

"Upset about something, Ichigo?"

"Kuso!"

The shinigami nearly jumped out of his skin. He twirled, attempting to spin kick the whoever it was that snuck up on him. He stopped, however, when he saw exactly who it was.

Standing there with his hands in his trench coat pockets and leaning away from his outstretched foot, was Raiden. The ninja looked a little scuffed up but otherwise seemed fine; it was probably from walking through the forest's dense vegetation. By the look Raiden gave him, Ichigo assumed that he was in a similar state.

The orange-haired shinigami was startled, to say the least, "Where the _hell_ did you come from?!"

Raiden sighed at the crass choice of words, "I've been trailing your Aura signature for the past couple hours. I only just managed to catch up with you due to your pointless wandering. Now can you put your foot down?"

Ichigo nodded and slowly lowered his foot, sighing in relief; this meant that he could finally get on the right track, "Cool, guess this makes us partners. Let's go."

Raiden nodded, "Right," and Ichigo started walking, but the cyborg wasn't done, "But, we should probably take care of the pack of Beowolves that currently have us surrounded, beforehand." That stopped Ichigo in his tracks.

Ichigo slowly turned to his new partner with a slightly deeper scowl than before, "You said what, now?"

Raiden gestured to the densely packed trees and bushes that surrounded them, "There is a pack of - approximately, mind you - thirty Beowolves hiding in the foliage around us."

Ichigo's expression turned to a deadpan, "You didn't have to answer that, you know. I was being rhetorical."

"I know."

Ichigo scoffed and turned back to their surroundings. He held out his right arm, " _ **Tensa Zangetsu**_ ," and with a flash of dark light, a black katana appeared in his hand. "Raiden-san, back-to-back," he leveled his new blade at the bushes, "It's time to kick some ass."

Raiden grunted in agreement and turned in the opposite direction, reaching for his blade. "Let's go, Masamune." With a flare, he unsheathed his blue, glowing ninjato, a high-pitched whine filling the air.

They stood at ready for a few moments, the air tense, then came first Beowolf. It prowled out of the bushes, followed one after the other by the rest of its pack. They settled in a circular formation around the duo. Then, they did the strangest thing... nothing.

Ichigo squinted his eyes in confusion, "Raiden-san… Shouldn't they have attacked us already?"

The cyborg was just as bewildered as his partner, "They should have, yeah. But, they seem to be... waiting."

Ichigo tensed at the prospect, "Okay, But for wha-"

Ichigo's jaw clamped shut when the Beowolves started howling in unison. They yowled for several seconds before they finally stopped, the groups that were directly in front Ichigo parted to either side and… bowed?

The shinigami grit his teeth, 'This... isn't good.'

He was only proven right when a black beast almost twice the size of the regular Beowolves started walking out woods to the shinigami's side. Ichigo could feel sweat drop off his face once the shadow broke into the clearing.

The new enemy was a giant Beowolf that looked like it had been crossed with a bull and pumped full of steroids. The entire upper body was covered in bone-white armor that looked to be capable of repelling even the strongest dust projectiles. The Hollow-like bone mask that all Grimm seemed to possess covered the monstrosities entire head, and had horns above the nose and eyebrows. Unlike its lesser brethren who had very tall but lanky frames, this one had muscles as thick as Ichigo was wide; if they connected with a solid blow, they could probably turn a normal human into a fine red mist. The most concerning features, however, were the four-foot, flaming claws - which could melt solid steel - that the thing sported on its hands and feet.

This legendary creature was the oldest and most powerful form of Beowolf, and with their strength had earned their own classification.

Fenrir.

"Raiden-san?"

"Yes, Ichigo?"

"This is bullshit."

"Yes, Ichigo."

"GGGRRRAAAAWWRRRR!"

The Fenrir roared to the heavens, challenging their new prey. They could feel strong souls from these two humans, and it had been years since they had had a decent challenge. These two would make fine meals for them and their pack.

Ichigo's scowl slowly became a feral grin when he realized the message behind the roar, his darker side filling with glee at the challenge.

They all stood there for a moment, waiting for the other party to make the first move. The afternoon wind blew through the treetops with an eerie howl, blowing several leaves into the open air. Time seemed to slow down for the combatants as the leaves made their way to earth. They fluttered to the ground with grace. And, when the first leaf hit the ground…

The battle began.

The Fenrir charged in, closing the distance in only a few seconds, and let loose with a vicious slash of its flaming right paw. It had expected to feel the crushing of bones, and hear the sweet squeals of human suffering; but, much to the beast's confusion, it only got empty air. It quickly recovered and frantically looked about for the suddenly much more dangerous quarry. If there's one thing the Fenrir new from its many confrontations, humans like this weren't prey... they were predators.

It only took a moment to find the humans; Ichigo had made his way behind the Fenrir, while Raiden had just moved to the edge of the clearing. The Fenrir looked at its opponents with caution when they started circling it, bodies completely relaxed and unworried. It knew they were preparing to attack...

So it made the first move.

It charged at Raiden, who it perceived to be the weaker of the two, and pounced. The Fenrir missed again when the ninja leaped straight over its head, landing behind it. It reacted quickly, pivoting on its front paws take another swipe at the cyborg; but Raiden wasn't the type to be caught off-guard so easily.

He brought his sword up to parry infernal appendage, pushing the paw up and over his head. The Fenrir, not expecting such resistance, tumbled to the side; giving Raiden an excellent opening in the process. The cyborg took the chance; bringing his sword up and blurring forward. Then, with a sickening squelch, the beast was suddenly missing its left arm.

The Fenrir swiftly recovered from its tumble and clutched its wound with its remaining paw. This wasn't good, it had underestimated this human; if it didn't get out of there quick, it would probably be missing its head next. The wounded wolf turned to flee but found its escape blocked by the orange-haired human.

It was at this moment that the Fenrir realized… it fucked up.

Ichigo flickered from his spot in front of the beast, reappearing above it with Zangetsu held high. A feral grin split the shinigami's face, "End of the line, dog-breath!" He launched himself downward with a roar and a burst of sonído. He seemed to be above the beast one instant, then crouched on the ground behind it the next.

The beast stood there for a moment, seemingly frozen. But the Grimm's black ichor suddenly started flowing from a cut that neatly bisected it. Then, slowly, the halves of its body fell to either side; dispersing into black mist before they could even hit the ground.

Ichigo rose back up slowly, and turned to the rest of pack; Raiden walking up to stand beside him. The two could see the terror in the Beowolves' eyes, so Ichigo raised Zangetsu, and used that fear, "Beat it."

For a moment, none of them moved a muscle. But eventually, one by one, the Grimm fled back into the forest; recognizing the folly in challenging such strong foes.

When the last Beowolf disappeared, Ichigo let Zangetsu dissipate into particles of black light. Now onto more pressing matters.

Ichigo addressed his partner, "Raiden-san, how far to the temple?"

The cyborg sheathed his own blade and did some quick calculations before answering, "We're slightly less than eleven klicks southeast of our destination," he pointed in the temple's direction,"If we run, we can make it within a quarter of an hour."

Ichigo grunted, "Alright, let's hoof it then. We've been held up long enough."

The pair disappeared from the clearing. The only trace of their presence being some scorched earth from the Fenrir's claws, and a cloud of dust from their exit.

* * *

"Hmmm, very interesting..."

Ozpin's curiosity had been peaked.

Ichigo Burakku, Jadon Chimalis, Raiden Taji. What these three names had in common, was that they each represented a person of great power and potential.

Glynda hummed in agreement before clicking her tongue, "It's a shame that the Mr. Chimalis had to be paired with that Ogaleesha boy. The imbecile will probably drive the young man insane."

Ozpin tutted Glynda's presumptuous claim, "Patience Glynda; while, yes, Mr. Ogaleesha has yet to demonstrate any skill as a thinker," he looked at an image of Wade and Jadon sprinting through the woods, "He has yet to have a chance to demonstrate his skill as a warrior."

Glynda, still skeptical, just shook her head, "I would say those two things go hand in hand... but, I'll agree to disagree."

The two teachers turned back to the observation screen.

* * *

Ruby was feeling extremely satisfied with herself.

She had just decapitated a Giant Nevermore by dragging it up a cliff with her scythe at super-speed after being launched at it by a giant slingshot. Needless to say, she felt awesome. As she made her way down the cliff to meet up with her friends who were either cheering enthusiastically(Yang, Nora, and Jaune), clapping politely(Pyrrha and Weiss), or silently nodding in approval(Ren and Blake).

Once she made it the ground Ruby's sister gave her a bone-crushing hug, "I'm so proud of you, Rubes!"

Meanwhile, Ruby was slowly dying from oxygen deprivation, "Y-Yang ca-can't… breath…"

Yang, realizing her error, dropped her sister back to her feet, "Sorry, Rubes! My bad!"

Ruby couldn't speak, still trying to get her breath back, but gave her sister a thumbs up in instead.

When the red reaper stood again she saw everyone else walking over, looks of varying relief on their faces. Weiss broke from the group and walked toward Ruby, stopping in front her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Ruby started fidgeting with her cloak as Weiss stared. Had she done something to make Weiss mad? 'Nonono, I just got her to start being nice to me! I couldn't have messed up already… could I?! ' Ruby's worries were put rest however when the heiress's features softened ever so slightly.

If you looked closely, you could see the corners of Weiss's mouth turn up by a tiny margin as she said, "Well done, Do…" she cleared her throat, "Ruby..." Ruby felt giddy at the praise, the moment then died when Weiss's face hardened once more and her prickly persona returned, "that plan was still extremely hazardous and unreliable, though," she crossed her arms, "One of us couldeasily have been maimed, or worse." Weiss quickly did an about-face towards the forest, ready to head back to the Academy.

Ruby just stood there in stunned silence. She looked to the others for some type of explanation, only to find noncommittal shrugs. All the young huntress could do was sigh and follow Weiss's lead.

However, The Heiress - and everyone else - stopped when they heard something rushing through the trees. They took ready positions, preparing for another fight, Jaune doing so with a distinct 'Oh, come on!'. The rustling quickly closed in, then the unknowns emerged.

Wade and Jadon skidded to stop in front of the group with looks of surprise and haste. Ruby, confused, decided to speak up, "Jadon? Wade?" Then she realized that there help would have been very welcome earlier, "Where have you two been?! We just finished fighti-"

Jadon interrupted with a silencing hand, "Yeah, that's great, RuRu," he gestured at the entire group, "But you all have to get out of here."

Ruby was back to being confused, "What? Wh-"

Wade, cut Ruby off immediately, "Just do what the big guy says!? You can't handle what's on our tail."

Jadon turned to his partner, irritation overlapping his fear, "You mean what's on your tail? You're the one who woke it up in the first place!"

Now Jaune spoke, obviously terrified, "Wai-wai-Wait! What exactly is after you-"

"Him!"

"-him!?"

Then someone spoke from the right, "Yeah, Wade. What did you do this time?"

Everyone's heads spun to the new voice. They were greeted by Ichigo and Raiden jogging over to meet them.

Jadon sighed, "I don't know..."

"Well, whatever it is we-we can you help fight it! It can't be that much worse than what w-we-we... we..." Ruby's voice died when Jadon just shook his head.

He turned back to the group of students that had already passed the exam, and finished his previous statement, "But, what I do know is that you eight are already worn from what I assume was a difficult battle, and, therefore, are will only get in the way if you stay here! So GO! _NOW_!"

Everyone flinched at the force in Jadon's voice; what could have him so freaked out? With a stutter, Ruby complied, "A-Alright Jadon… we'll g-go," she took a deep breath and regathered her confidence, "But! You better come back alive, you hear me!? I don't want my first friend at Beacon dying before the first day!"

His features softened at how much the young reaper genuinely cared, 'An all too rare quality in the world.' He smiled and nodded, "Yes ma'am, Ruby ma'am; we got this."

The crimsonette nodded and turned to her group, "Alright guys, you heard him. Let's get out of here!" And with that, the eight students all sprinted into woods, each wishing the four staying behind good luck.

When they had all left, Ichigo turned to his leader, "Alright, Jae-san. What are we up agai-"

" **SSSCRRROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR**!"

Jadon pointed into the trees where the roar came from, "That."

" **SSSCRRREEEEOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR**!"

Ichigo glared at Wade, eyes burning, "When we're done here... I'm gonna shove my foot _so far_ up your ass..."

Wade gulped, "hehe, my bad?" The glare just intensified.

The second roar snapped them all into their battle positions. Jadon activated his bracers with a whir of electricity; a metal mask sliding over the lower half of his face. Ichigo summoned Zangetsu in a flash of black light. Wade drew his katanas, Vanessa and Carlysle. And Raiden unsheathed Masamune, it's blue glow radiating from it.

They tracked the creature by watching as the trees fell from its path. It was closing in quick.

" _Okay guys, here's the plan,_ " when his distorted voice spoke, all heads turned to their leader, " _Wade._ "

"Yeah, FL."

" _You run interference. Distract that thing in any way you can!_ "

Wade snapped a salute, "You got it!"

Jadon turned to the team ninja, " _Raiden._ "

"Yes, sir."

" _Rush tactics. I want you to hang back; see a weakness, exploit it as much as you can, then retreat._ "

"Understood."

Jadon turned to his final compatriot, " _Ichigo._ "

Ichigo's eyes flickered in his direction, and in that moment Jadon saw that they were all business, "Hai."

Jadon pointed to himself, " _You're with me. We're the assault; just do as much damage as you can, as fast you can._ "

"Hai, Jadon-sama."

The creature was almost out of the forest. Jadon tightened his stance, " _Here it comes..._ "

Moments later… come it did. And whatever creature they had been expecting… this thing was worse.

The first to react was Wade, "What in name of Stan- _fucking_ -Lee is that!?"

It was a horror. Like some sort of eldritch abomination that crawled from the deepest pit of hell. It was probably around fifteen meters tall. It had six arms, and very large head; if you could call that bulbous, one-eyed mass, filled with thousands of needle-like teeth, a head. The arms themselves were long, thin, and tipped with wickedly sharp sickles the size of a car. The rest of the torso was emaciated to the point that its skin just hung off its exposed skeleton. Its legs were that of an animal, but instead of ending in paws, or feet… they just continued sharpening into bone spikes.

Jadon shook his head and regathered his thoughts. He actually had no clue what it was, this Grimm was something he'd never seen before. So instead of answering, he asked the one who would know, " _Raiden?_ "

The cyborg was already on it, "Checking this thing against known Grimm specimens, sir-"

" _Move!_ "

Before the shinobi could say anything more. They were forced to follow Jadon's command when one of the abomination's limbs came from their left.

"What the hell," Ichigo yelled as he rolled under the lethal appendage, "What was that?!"

They all glanced around for a possible second assailant before looking back at the creature, only to find that it hadn't moved from its spot. They were shocked, however, when they saw the creature rear back it's upper-left arm and swing. The expectation was that the arm would just go harmlessly through the air in front of the abomination; but no, instead they watched, dumbfounded, while the limb stretched.

They scattered again, narrowly dodging the blade.

" _Wade_ ," Jadon called once he landed, " _You know what to do, right?!_ "

The merc turned his leader and nodded, "Right!" He started running to monsters left and stopped once he was at its six o'clock. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he did what he did best, "Hey you!"

Piss things off.

The monster turned its head to him, confused.

"Yeah, you! Ya fugly-ass biatch!"

Its confusion turned to vexation.

"Your head looks like ol' Herbert the Pervert's ball-sack!" Then an idea seemed to strike him, "Ya know what! From now on I'm callin' you, Herbert! That okay with you?!"

And vexation turned to rage.

" **SSSCRROOOOOOAAAAARRR**!"

The merc with a mouth just shrugged, "Guess not."

Its focus now solely on Wade, the overgrown weed whackers that served as Herbert's arms swung wildly. Their single aim being to the hack obnoxious, red insect to pieces.

Wade ducked under a swing from the left, "WHOAH!"

A hasty backflip prevented Wade from losing his legs, "AH-HA-HA!"

He barely had time to land before a diagonal slash forced into a knee slide, "HOLY CHIMICHANGAS!"

As he popped up, Wade saw a blade coming from either side. Reacting immediately, he jumped into perfect butterfly-twist, slipping right between them. As he landed he called to his associates, "GUYS-WOAH," who hadn't done anything yet for some unknown reason, "AS A - HOO - FELLOW - HEE - PROTAG - ACK - PROTAGONIST - OH GEEZ - I HUMBLY REQUE-E-E-EST THAT... YOU… UGH, JUST HELP ME, DAMN IT!"

As Wade danced for his life, the others were just contently watching the performance. Ichigo turned to his leader, "Think he's had enough, Jae-san?"

Jadon made a show of mulling it over, placing a hand on his armored chin and closing his eyes in pretend thought, " _Hmmmm_..."

"MAH-HA-HA-HAAAHMMMMY!"

Jadon eyes snapped open, a grin under his mask, " _Yep. He's had enough._ "

He turned to his carrot-haired colleague, " _Ichigo._ "

"Hai!"

" _Let's go!_ "

Before the order even fully left Jadon's mouth the two took off at incredible speeds, leaving two craters in the earth where they had been standing. Jadon yelled to his compatriot over the rushing air, " _Ichigo! Go for the arms, take Herbert's weapons!_ "

Ichigo nodded at the advice, "Hai, Jadon-sama!"

The distance shrunk exponentially as they sprinted for their target's exposed back. Jadon's focus narrowed with each step, his sight tunneling on their mark, 'twenty meters… ten meters…'

" _NOW_!"

Jadon and Ichigo's paths abruptly diverged; Ichigo broke left, while Jadon broke right. As the shinigami ran circles about the creature, the heterochromatic jumped at Herbert's three right arms. Reaching his own arms out Jadon grasped all three and used them to swing around and grab the ones on it's left; Wade falling on his butt, gasping heavily. Once his feet returned to solid earth, Jadon used his massive strength to pull the limbs taught, " _Ichigo! Go!_ "

At that moment Ichigo sprung into the air, and with a great downward slash, he severed all six of the monster's limbs in one strike. The severed section dispersing into black smoke.

" **SSSCRRROOOOAARR**!?" The loss of pull forced the beast to stumble backward while the stumps that were once its arms fell limply to its sides.

Raiden saw the opportunity and took it as ordered. He sprung forward, closing the distance as quick as Ichigo and Jadon had… but didn't turn. Instead, he jumped straight for the creature's head. As he passed it by, the ninja swung his blade; a blue haze marking its path. He landed in a crouch... and as he sheathed his blade, the beast's head slid off its shoulders. When the blade clicked home, the head hit the ground and burst into black smoke.

The rest of the body gently teetered on its feet for a few seconds, before the corpse pitched forward and hit the ground with a resounding crash. The quartet just stared at the carcass for a moment before turning to one another.

" _Well… that was ea_ sier than expected," Jadon groaned as his face mask retracted and he stretched his arms. Dropping them once his muscles relaxed, he waved his hand toward the decrepit temple that contained their objective, "Shall we go pass this test, fellas?"

With a collective nod, they all began walking towards the temple at a leisurely pace. However, they didn't make it far before Wade stopped, rigid with suspicion, "Dudes… a thought occurs… if Herbert croaked… then shouldn't the body have- AUGH!"

Before the merc could finish his thought, all four of them were sent flying into a wall by some unknown force - a spiderweb of cracks forming upon impact. As they all looked up dazedly to see what had hit them, what they saw could easily be summed up by Wade's next two words.

"Awww… _Shit_ …"

In the same location as what they had believed was Herbert's corpse, the monster now stood, no worse for wear. It had both its head and arms back, but not only that, it had six new arms that were akin to bone bludgeons - one of which was currently returning to its side.

Raiden scoffed as he, along with the other three, stumbled to his feet, "Herbert is capable of regeneration and adaptation. That's just goddamn wonderful."

Jadon growled as he rolled his shoulders, the irritation getting the better of him, "No shit, Robo-Sherlock." Ignoring Raden's glower, the brunette appraised the creature sharply as he came up with a new plan of attack. A light bulb went off in his head.

Jadon turned to his comrades, his scowl replaced by a sly smirk, "Alright guys, new plan!" he jerked a thumb back at the monster, "All Grimm have a weakness. Right?"

Not sure where their leader was going with this, they all offered hesitant affirmations.

Jadon nodded, "Right," he gestured back at Herbert with both arms, "So what do you do when faced with an unknown Grimm?"

They all took a moment to contemplate his question. Wade was the first to… raise his hand?

"Oh, Oh, I know! Pick me! Pick me!"

Jadon's expression turned sour for a moment before he just sighed, deciding to roll with it.

"Yes, Wade, go ahead."

The merc triumphantly placed his hands on his hips as he answered, "You prod its defenses 'till it gives away the locations of its weaknesses," he slammed a fist into his palm, "Then, hit it 'till it dies!"

All he got in response was shocked silence, he looked up to see that his friends were all giving him looks of utter amazement… "What, did say I say something wrong?"

Jadon's eyes widened before he cleared his throat, waving off the merc's question, "It's nothing, Wade. But yes, you're correct." He went back to addressing the whole group as if nothing happened, "So, yeah. The new plan is that we'll attack the thing all at once from range. That way we'll be able to determine Herbert's weakness. Afterward, we'll formulate a strategy based on that weakness. Clear?" They all nodded their understanding. With a nod of his own, the young leader turned back to the monstrosity, which had, oddly, stood like an incredibly ugly statue for their entire conversation.

' _Hmph, how polite…_ '

Herbert seemed to notice their attention, " **SCRROOAARRR** ," and released a great bellow towards the sky. It brought its head back down and started to slowly lumber towards them. The lumber then turned to a brisk trot. Shortly after the trot, it began running.

As it charged, Jadon spoke to his team, "Okay, guys…" he gradually raised his hand, the mask sliding back into place, " _On, my signal..._ "

They all switched to ranged weaponry as the creature moved in; Jadon's hands were enveloped in electricity, Wade switched his katanas to rifle mode, Raiden took a pair of high-caliber pistols from within his coat, and Ichigo's Zangetsu lit with red energy. The creature's speed increased, and their stances stiffened. With each giant step it took, the distance fell away. And once it breached seven meters, Jadon's hand dropped, " _Scatter!_ "

With that command, all four of them took off in different directions; the beast barreled past and through the already cracked wall behind them. The squad followed immediately, briefly looking around to find themselves inside some sort of courtyard; the beast being in the center of it.

They turned to one another with a quick nod before taking off again. Raiden ran up the side of a nearby column, leaping from one to another once he reached the top; firing on Herbert the entire way.

Wade sprinted from cover to cover, unleashing hails of bullets at random intervals.

And Ichigo turned up the speed; the shinigami seemed to disappear and reappear in random locations, each swipe releasing a wave of red energy.

Herbert, however, was able to swing its many limbs around with enough speed to deflect nearly every bullet and wave that was thrown at it. It managed to throw the occasional attack at its assailants, but to no avail. The three warriors were just too fast.

While the monster was distracted, Jadon climbed to the top of a nearby rubble-mound, his hands aglow with arcing electricity.

The electromancer closed his eyes, took a breath, and wound up his right arm like a pitcher preparing to toss a fastball, the energy around it pulsing more violently with each inch. When Jadon reached the peak of his wind up, his hand was glowing like a miniature sun. His eyes opened, the pupils had shrunk into reptilian slits and wisps of light seemed to stream off in the color of their respective eye. A grin split his face, " _Fry_!"

The light that followed was both blinding and deafening.

Jadon swung his arm forward with the strength to level a city block, and a mighty bolt of lightning screamed across the courtyard. It struck Herbert with a thunderous crack, sending it skidding backward. That one bolt's strength was colossal, but It was only the first.

Jadon's arms turned into blurs of motion and thunder as he unleashed the wrath of a typhoon upon the Grimm with manic glee. The bolts of electricity were thrown with enough speed and consistency to look like a continuous beam. The beast brought all its limbs to bear in an attempt to defend itself, but it proved to be futile as it was swiftly overwhelmed.

Jadon kept up the volley of energy for a solid twenty seconds. After that, he started to slow, the power behind each bolt steadily weakening. Then, with one last bolt, he stopped; a full minute had passed. The exhaustion forced Jadon to one knee, his mask retracting so that he can breathe more easily, he gasped heavily as his charge dissipated and sweat covered his forehead. The young leader's face clenched in frustration, "D-Dammit, I over-," a round coughing shook him, "-over d-did it…"Jadon raised his head slowly to check the condition of his target. He couldn't resist the sense of satisfaction.

The beast looked like it had been boiled in the center of a volcano. Its skin was sizzling from the heat of Jadon's bolts and had taken on the consistency of boiling wax. The creature's bones were charred and missing several sizable chunks. Like Jadon, Herbert had fallen to its knees, but from the pain of withstanding Jadon's barrage, not exhaustion.

However, the small bit of satisfaction that sight gave him was instantly annihilated by annoyance. The leader could see the damn thing healing itself rapidly - bone filling in, and skin pulling back together - which meant all his effort was completely useless.

A hand suddenly rested on Jadon's shoulder. Flinching, Jadon tried to spring to his feet but stumbled forward instead. Before he could fall down the painful-looking rubble, he was caught and hauled back to his feet by six careful hands. When they let him go, he wobbled on his legs for a moment but quickly steadied. He realized someone was talking to him, "Huh?"

"I said, "FL, you alright?" you look like shit, by the by," It was Wade.

A tired sigh escaped Jadon's mouth, "Uh-huh…" The look the three gave him spoke volumes, "Seriously, I-I'm fine. Just… tired."

With a snort of derision, Ichigo got to the point, "Yeah, right… but we don't have time to waste debating with you," he jerked a thumb at Raiden, "Raiden-san says that he's got a solution to Herbert-teme."

Jadon perked up, "Its w-weakness?"

A nod confirmed his hopes, "Awesome! S-so, what is it?"

The ninja glanced at the rapidly reforming creature, "I'll make this quick. During our attack, Herbert protected one thing over everything else," he tapped a finger over where his heart would be, "Its chest."

A look of understanding crossed the leader's face, "So that must be what we need to focus on!"

The cyborg nodded, "Correct. So, taking this critical info into account, I've come up with a strategy that should win this fight."

Jadon just gave a conceding wave, "Lay it on me."

Over the next minute, Raiden conveyed a condensed version of his plan to the team. Herbert was close to finishing its regeneration when he stopped, "That's my plan," he turned to Jadon with a look that could have been concern, if Jadon looked hard enough, "Sir. Are you sure you have enough power left for this?"

All the shinobi got was a thumbs-up and confident smile, "I'll be fine. You all just get me a clear shot, and we can end this." Raiden grunted, he would have believed it if it wasn't for the shudders that his leader was trying to hide, but, they had an objective to complete and they would fail if Hebert wasn't taken care of, so, "Understood."

The plan now ready for execution, Wade, Ichigo, and Raiden all turned their attention on the reforming Grimm. It was just getting back on its feet and seemed to be trying to find its bearings.

Perfect.

"Go."

Raiden took off with Ichigo, Wade staying back as they charged. They sprinted to either side of Herbert, each taking a slash at one of its legs as they sped by. With a growl, the beast's many gazes locked on the two attackers, its arms not far behind.

The beast attempted to hit the two, but they just kept evading its attacks. A duck here, a dodge there, they just kept on barely weaving around Herbert's strikes. Duck, dodge, twirl, sidestep, jump, roll, backflip, and slid- wait… why wouldn't its arms move? Then Herbert realized, so intent was it on ending the human worms that had been giving it so much trouble, it didn't even notice that it had tied its own arms into a knot.

Uh-oh.

Confidence began to glimmer in the resident cyborg's eyes as he watched the creature struggle to free itself, "All according to plan," he muttered. Raising one of his pistols to the sky, he fired off three rounds.

Wade looked up when he heard the gunshots, "That's my cue!" He pulled a remote from behind his back and clicked the big red button, disappearing with a "BAMF," inside swirl of red and black.

An instant later, he reappeared in front of Herbert. Except, now he had an armed stack of C4 in each arm. His smile turned demented, and he threw it at the creature's feet. As soon as the explosive hit the ground, Wade disappeared again. Reappearing next to the other two, ten meters away.

The merc plugged his ears, "Here comes the-"

 ***BOOM!***

The earth shuddered while an inferno enveloped Herbert's legs. Sending its massive frame plummeting to the earth. It was fully immobilized.

Now it was Jadon's turn.

The bracers that adorned his arms activated once again. Jadon raised his arms towards Herbert, leveling on its chest. The barrels started to glow with brilliant blue light as he charged them, the whine increasing in pitch as the glow brightened.

The charge reached its apex, "Have fun in oblivion, Herbert," Jadon let a smirk cross his face, "Roar, _Toguro-Jinrai_ ," and fired.

 ***CRACKOOM!***

A bullet exited from each of Jadon's rail-bracers, traveling so fast that they ignited the air itself. When they hit - and went straight through - their mark, a large portion of Herbert's abdomen vanished from existence; tiny chunks of it flying in every direction. They were fired so forcefully, that when they hit the earth behind the Grimm, the ground exploded, leaving five meter wide, three meter deep craters.

" **Scree** …." Herbert's final cry echoed through the courtyard as whatever remained of its body began to fall, fading into smoke.

Jadon's team didn't take their eyes off it until the last speck disappeared.

A tired sigh escaped Jadon's lips when the last piece dissipated, he was angry with himself for being so reckless, but he could brood about it later... after a nice nap. A black haze started moving in from the edges of his vision, his staggering. 'So… Sleepy…' And, with that final thought, he pitched forward, out cold before he even hit the ground.

* * *

Engines.

That's the first thing Jadon heard when regained consciousness. Wait… engines? Wasn't he just in the Emerald Forest? Why is he hearing engines?

The electromancer's eyes tore open when he realized he had no idea where he was. He wasted no time sitting up from his lateral position and taking in his surroundings.

He was laying on a gurney in the passenger bay of a bullhead if the rapidly moving sky out the window was any clue.

"Hey, guys," yelled a voice behind him, "Sleeping Beauty's awake!"

That was Wade, which was - strangely enough - a relief. Jadon's upper-body twisted around to see his three squadmates all looking at him expectantly.

"Uh… Status report?" He cringed at his own question.

Ichigo shook his head with a snort, "Well, now we know he's fine."

"Mhmm," Wade agreed.

Raiden was the one to actually answer his question, "The mission was a success. We made it without injury - unless swooning counts-" Jadon frowned, "I didn't _swoon_." Raiden just ignored him and continued talking, "and retrieved the relics," he and Wade each held up a black knight piece, "We were recovered from the temple minutes after you _passed out-"_

"That's better."

"-due to over-exhaustion. We are coming up on the Academy as we speak."

The leader nodded, "That's grand and all. But," he tilted his head towards the restraints that held him to the gurney, "Can someone get me out of these?" Jadon grimaced in discomfort, "They itch."

* * *

The otherworldly leader took a deep breath of fresh air as the bullhead's doors opened. An undeniable sense of awe filled him as the magnificent academy was slowly revealed, bathed in the sunset's light.

His gaze settled on Ozpin and Glynda, the two teachers waiting patiently at the edge of the landing pad. The expectation obvious, he began walking over to them.

The electromancer didn't even make it five feet.

"JADON!" Before he could even react, he abruptly found himself being tackled by a red and black blur. The impact forcing him to take a couple steps back, which was rather impressive.

His legs steady again, Jadon looked down at his torso to see a very excited Ruby Rose clinging to his stomach, "...Hi?"

The young reaper jumped away from him with an unnaturally wide grin on her face. Her silver eyes shining with curiosity and glee as she looked up at him. Jadon knew something horrid was coming, then her mouth opened and a veritable _torrent_ of words started to pour out.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshthatwassocoolwesaweverythingyourwholeteamwaslikehiyaaandthemonster-"

"RuRu."

She started waving her arms about in what she must have thought was kung-fu, "-WasallarrgghthenitgotbackuplikeROARandyouallstatedkickingitsbuttagain-"

"Ruby!"

She spun with her arms up in the air, simulating an explosion, albeit inaccurately, "-Andyoustatedthrowinglightningatitbutitstillwouldn'tgodownbutthenyouusedyourawesomeweaponandblastedittokingdomcom-"

" _Ruby Rose_!"

The young huntress froze up, stuck awkwardly between what looked like a cross between the crane and tiger poses. Not only did it look awkward, but apparently it was unstable too.

Jadon couldn't help the small grin of adoration as Ruby started to teeter. She wheeled her arms in the air in an attempt to rebalance herself, however, that only seemed to make it worse, "Woah!"

The little reaper closed her eyes in preparation for her intimate relations with the concrete…

Which never happened.

She cracked one eye open to see that Jadon had caught her by the arm, grinning widely

He pulled young huntress back onto her own two legs, "You okay?"

She blinked owlishly for a moment before her brain kicked back in, "Umm, yeah! Thanks for the save, Jadon." He smiled again, "No prob," then he crossed his arms as his demeanor turned smug, "I was pretty badass, though, wasn't I." Ruby nodded quickly, her earlier excitement returning.

"And what are we chopped liver!?"

The pair turned to see an irritated Wade tapping his foot; an equally irritated Ichigo and a stoic Raiden standing behind him.

"Yeah, it was a team effort, Jadon-san," Ichigo growled.

"Oh, cool it Carrot-top," a boisterous voice that had to be Yang said, "you were all awesome." Low n' behold, it was Yang, her and all the other initiates walking onto the platform. The blonde seemed oblivious to Ichigo's glare as she finished her thought, "I mean, that fight was pretty _charged_. Eh?"

Ruby's face turned red, "Yaaannng!" Yang always had to humiliate her with her bad jokes. Nobody liked them! How is that so hard to understand!?

Before she could scold her sister, though, Jadon responded with a grin, "Yeah, I guess the _sparks_ really flew, huh?"

Everyone, except for his team and Yang, gasped in bewilderment - and slight horror. Yang, however, just walked up to him, gave a big teary smile, and draped an arm over his shoulder - despite the height difference, "I knew I liked you, big guy."

Jadon returned the show of affection, "I aim to please."

"Ahem," all the initiates' heads swiveled toward Ms. Goodwitch, giving her their full attention. With a stiff nod of approval, the professor continued, "Now, if you're all quite done with the meet and greet," she gestured toward the school, "I believe we have a ceremony to get to."

* * *

"Cardin Winchester. Russel Thrush. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark."

The four initiates stood as Ozpin called their names and strutted toward the stage, their photos appearing on the giant holo-screens. Jadon didn't recognize a single one of them, so they must have finished the initiation before him and the others. They didn't seem all that impressive, but having multiple lifetimes of prior experience to compare them with makes it hard to judge. They must, at the very least, be competent, if not lucky, if they made it through the test so quickly.

The four young men finally made it to the stage. The new team stood at attention as Ozpin continued the ceremony, "You four successfully retrieved the black bishop pieces. Henceforth, you will be known as team Cardinal," Jadon glared to his left when Wade ohed at how the overhead morphed the students' images into their first initials, spelling CRDL, though, he had to admit it was pretty clever, "lead by Cardin Winchester." The now official team CRDL gave a small bow of thanks before exiting the stage, the crowd giving them a round of polite applause.

Their photos were replaced with the images of Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora as Ozpin called those four to the stage. Jadon gave a nod of approval to the team as they walked by, he had seen their tapes and was impressed with their skill as a unit. He thought Jaune was… underwhelming, to say the least. Hopefully, he would get better with time, but if he doesn't… well… let's just say that he wasn't above interference.

"You four chose the white rook pieces," he waved his hand across the quartet, "Making you, Team Juniper," the overhead spelled it JNPR, "led by…" a pause, probably for dramatic effect, "Jaune Arc."

The knight looked pretty floored by the revelation. But contrary to his disbelief, his new team just gave him genuine smiles of congratulations. Pyrrha even went as far as to give him a slightly over-enthused punch to the shoulder, accidentally knocking him over.

Jadon could understand the selection, Jaune seemed to be well-suited for the leader/strategist role; again, he'd just have to work on his combat skills so that he isn't dead-weight in the field. He joined the rest of the crowd in their notably more enthusiastic applause as Team JNPR exited the stage, after helping Jaune up.

Ozpin returned to center stage and called the next four names, two of which actually made him smile, "Next we have: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long."

Wade leaned over to Jadon with a teasing grin, "Hey FL, isn't that your…" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "giiirrrlllfriiieeend?" Jadon just turned and gave him a flat look, but his message was clear, 'Shut. up.' Wade just smiled, not wanting to waste this opportunity to rib his normally unflappable leader; however, before he could keep going, Ruby's group made it on stage.

The four stood eagerly, each in their own way. Ruby was, adorably, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Schnee was standing at rigid attention, showing how impossibly deep she had shoved that Ice Dust pole. The new one, Blake, looked similar to Raiden; coiled like an overstressed spring, but seems relaxed to the casual observer. And Yang just seemed a little more cocky than normal, arms crossed under her... assets.

Ozpin's sleepy mask cracked ever so slightly in the form of a nearly invisible smile, "You four retrieved the White Knight pieces. So from this point onward, you all shall be known as Team Ruby," their photos were replaced by their initials, spelling RWBY, "lead by..." he paused again.

Jadon raised an eyebrow, 'The guy really likes his dramatic pauses, doesn't he…'

The headmaster raised his mug to Ruby, "Ruby Rose!"

The entire auditorium, Jadon included, broke into wild applause, all having been impressed with the young huntress's performance during the initiation. Many people awwed when Yang rushed over to Ruby and gave her a giant bear hug, tears of pride streaming down her face. Jadon felt his heart warm at the sight. But it quickly chilled when he caught a glimpse of the Schnee. Her face was contorted with outrage, but she quickly smothered it, expression shifting to simmering neutrality.

But Jadon only needed a quick glimpse to recognize that anger. It was the kind that usually led to people being found with slit throats if left unchecked.

That needed to be dealt with… and soon.

He snapped back to reality when loud tapping came from the auditorium's speakers. When the applause died down, Ozpin stopped tapping the mic and continued the ceremony.

"Now without further ado, I present to you the final initiates."

Jadon new immediately that Ozpin was referring to his squad, and no it wasn't because of the giant overhead with their faces on it.

"Jadon Chimalis. Wade Ogaleesha. Ichigo Burakku. Raiden Taji," they each stood at the sound of their name and made their way over to stage; Wade waving to the crowd and blowing a kiss to the occasional cute girl, typical. They climbed the stairs to the stage and came to a stop across from Ozpin. With the same mug-wave that he had used on all the other teams, he continued, "You four retrieved the Black Knight pieces, so henceforth you all shall be team Cobalt," Jadon couldn't resist looking up at the spelling, COBT, "Lead by..." another dramatic pause, though repetition has pretty much drained it of all effect.

"Jadon Chimalis!"

That was expected, it had been the plan after all, but what the officialized leader hadn't expected was for nearly the entire auditorium to rise into an uproarious standing ovation. The sound of bullet fire drew his eyes to the overheads; to his surprise, clips from his teams battle were being played…

This seemed like a bit much…

When Jadon looked to his friend's, it was easy to tell that they were just as uncomfortable with the attention. Except for Wade; he seemed to take it in stride as he swaggered to the front of the stage, grinning all the way. Then, with a grand flourish, he threw up a pair devil horns, yelling, "THANK YOOUUU, BEAAAACOOON!"

And much to the chagrin of Jadon's hearing, the crowd got even louder. The reaction seemed to bolster Wade's already over-inflated confidence. Jadon watched in horror when Wade disappeared, reappearing to snatch the mic from Ozpin, teleported back to his original spot, and started a _hype cheer_.

"I say 'WHO ROCKS?' you say 'COBT!'"

"WHO ROCKS?"

"COBT!"

"WHO ROCKS?!"

"COBT!"

"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR!"

It was at this point that Jadon, having the hyper-sensitive hearing he did, had had enough. Looking as serene as possible, Jadon advanced, stopping once he got right behind Wade. With both him and the crowd oblivious to his presence, Jadon raised his fist. With a force that many would have thought unnecessary, he swung down…

* **Thwack!** *

And clocked Wade across the back of his head, 'Night-night.'

The sweet silence that followed was euphoric.

Wade simply stood there for a moment… before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went slack. Jadon caught him by the collar of his shirt before he could hit the floor. Ignoring the shocked stares of the audience, he bent down and picked up the mic that Wade dropped when he lost consciousness. With apathetic ease, the leader of COBT stood up, returned the mic to Ozpin, and started walking off the stage, dragging his teammate's limp form like an empty sack. The rest of his team fell behind him as he passed, showing no surprise.

Jadon walked up the pew, still ignoring the gazes that followed his team - specifically him. It was only when they got to their seats - Jadon dropping the now drooling Wade in his - that he acknowledged the dumbstruck students, "Do you all need something?" His voice carried across the lecture hall in the stillness, so everyone was quick to avert their gazes, "That's what I thought."

Ozpin - unfazed by all that had just occurred - took advantage of the quiet, "And with that everyone, we conclude this year's Initiation Ceremony. All students may return to their dorms; and for the newly accepted," he holds up a Scroll, "please check your Beacon-issued scrolls for the location of your team's dorm," the headmaster put away his scroll, "Now, I bid you all welcome… and goodnight," and shuffled his way towards the staff exit.

* * *

* **Sploosh!** *

" _Pffft_ , I'm awake! I'm up! _Peh_! _Pleh_!" Wade's previously limp body shot up, soaking wet. Once he finished wiping the water from his eyes, he could see all three of his teammates standing around him - Ichigo holding an empty bucket, "Did you fuckers just splash me with..." he shivered, " _i_ _ce water?_ "

"Yes," Jadon answered, smiling, "and it was _hilarious_."

Wade's glare was murderous, "...All of my hate..." he started rubbing his bruised skull, "All of it."

"You're lucky, actually," Raiden interjected. "Ichigo was going to _literally_ shove his foot up your ass," Wade paled, "However, Jadon and I managed to get him to settle for the ice water. You're welcome, by the way."

Wade looked conflicted for a moment, but it gave way to relief in the form of a sigh, "I guess that's fair," he looked up at Jae, "So are we gonna talk about what we saw out there."

Jadon's narrowed, "Yes, yes we are." He leaned on the wall, closing his eyes, and thought for a moment, "Ichigo you said you that you were attacked by a Fenrir out there, right?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "But that was nothing to worry about, we can probably write that off as our power attracting stronger Grimm."

Jadon's eyes opened, "So let's move on then," he looked at each of them, "They knew we were coming."

Raiden was the only one to not show disbelief at his claim.

"FL, you can't be serious," Wade chuckled, "I mean, yeah, Herbert was... well, weird. But... but, that doesn't mean they already knew."

"I hate to say it," grumbled Ichigo, "but I agree with Wade. I think that Herbert was the same situation as the Fenrir." He turned to the one member of the team who had yet to speak, "What do you think, Raiden?"

The cyborg just stared at them all for a moment, before confirming their fears, "They knew."

Jadon gestured to the cyborg, "Care to elaborate."

Raiden looked look at him for a moment, then complied with a sigh, "That was no ordinary Grimm," he announced, "It wasn't natural." Wade scoffed, "Anything we don't know?" The cyborg only glanced at him before continuing, "I ran it through my entire database of Grimm on the Bullhead, no match," his expression turned grim, "But I did notice something odd." He looked to Jadon and received a nod, "Tell them what you told me." Raiden nodded, "I saw something familiar in the monster's genetic make-up," he took a breath, "and if it's what I think it is... well..." he faltered.

"'Well' what?" coaxed Ichigo.

Raiden sighed for the umpteenth time, "It's a modified version of a virus I encountered in one of my previous deployments for Centra," he looked up, genuine fear in his eyes, "It's called the T-virus... and if it's here, so is it's master..."

Jadon saw his pain, and finished for him, "Albert Wesker."

* * *

AU: Finally! Second chapter, done! Took this noob a while, but I did it! The team is now officially in Beacon - timeline insertion successful - and they know who one of their adversaries is. Before I leave I just want to make one thing clear: I appreciate any, and all, criticism (as long as it has a valid point, no slavering bouts of ranting). It helps me to write and gives me a pool of ideas that I can pull from for support. Farewell, and remember: Breath deep, live long, seek peace, let the Force guide you, and prosper young padawans.


	3. Day One

**Chapter 3 - Day One**

It is another bright morning in the fair kingdom of Vale, with the new dawn bathing the campus of Beacon Academy in sunlight. The birds are chirping, and a gentle breeze rustles the trees, carrying away the first leaves of autumn. The sun had risen to a point that it could shine through the dorm windows. One of these rays made its way into the unshrouded window of team CBLT's dorm, falling upon the face of Jadon Chimalis, their leader.

Jadon groans before turning over in the bed, pulling the blanket up over his head in an attempt to block out the light that was disturbing his blissful unawareness. The struggle against the emissary of wakefulness is valiant, but, like all who have fought the infernal rays of early light, he succumbs. Sitting up with a loud yawn, the chestnut-haired boy stretches out to try and chase off the morning stiffness.

"I knew I shouldn't have taken the window bed," he laments, "But I just _had_ to have the one that wasn't wet." Bleary blue and yellow eyes drag across the room; the brain behind them only _just_ aware enough to process that all his teammates are still sleeping peacefully. Jadon's eyes stop on Wade for a second, who had somehow managed to slide his own mattress off its bed frame and toss the sheets to the far side of the room.

The tired brunette just shrugs; it's not his space, so it's not his problem.

Swinging his feet off the bed, Jadon gradually stands, raising his arms in another wide stretch with a grunt of satisfaction. Mind somewhat clearer, he looks around the room again. They had unpacked before hitting the hay, so their room was already furnished and organized…

Well, except Wade's quarter, but that's a lost cause no one is willing to pursue.

Now that he has some sleep to run on, Jadon can appreciate the fairly cushy room that is a standard Beacon dorm. Coming in the door from the common room, if you looked left you'd see four twin-sized beds evenly spaced along the wall with one large window in the middle. Looking right, one would notice a large X-Tech Holovision installed in the top-middle of the wall. They each had added their own little things; small desks with lamps next to the beds, some extra shelving units, and four bean bags – one blue, another red, the third black, and the last one silver. Directly across from the entrance, is another door that leads into their shared bathroom. When Jadon's gaze passes over the clock on the end table Ichigo had set by the entrance, he realizes he hadn't heard an alarm. _The sun must have woken me up before it went off… what ti-_

Jadon suddenly feels very much awake, "...Shit!"

He scrambles for the beds and starts shaking each of his teammates, "Guys, wake up!"

Raiden – being a light sleeper… if he slept at all – is the quickest to react. Jumping out of his bed with metal fists raised, "What is it? Are we under attack?" Jadon shakes his head as he rushes around the room, gathering his items, "No! Nobody set the alarm!" The shuffling of feet says Raiden is dropping his stance, "Ah." The heterochromatic can't see Raiden's face – he was to busy trying to pack his things – but he does hear the confusion in the metal man's voice, "Then… what's the problem?"

Jadon briefly stops what he's doing to look at the cyborg. "It's 8:40 in the morning," he mutters as if it's the most obvious thing ever. Or at least… it should be.

"So what, _baka_!?"

Mildly miffed by the insult, Jadon glances over to see Ichigo up and about, scratching the back of his head with a _highly_ irritated look on his face, "What the hell made the wake-up necessary?! You know I hate being shaken awake!"

Oh... right... he had forgotten about that…

"Yeah," Jadon turns again, Wade had woken up too, but opted to sit on his mattress, "I was having this awesome dream about getting freaky with this pink, fluf- Aagh!" A shoe had flown through the air – courtesy of an irate Ichigo – and smacked the ex-tumor in the face hard enough to knock him over, painfully cutting him short before he could share whatever horrifying fantasy his subconscious had cooked up.

However, despite the amusement, Jadon feels his mouth pull into a frown. They shouldn't be this clueless, and the groggy explanation could only excuse so much. "Did _any_ of you read the schedule…" Jadon growls. They all shake their heads.

"Class starts at 9 am," he snaps, and the issue finally seems to dawn on his clueless companions, "Get your shit together!"

The room quickly becomes a flurry of activity and hysteria. All the organizing that had been accomplished last night being torn apart over the course of they had finally gotten everything and changed into their uniforms, Jadon checks the clock. _8:53, that's just great!_ He spins to Wade, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him violently, "Can you teleport us to class!?"

Wade shakes his head vigorously, whether or not it was voluntary Jadon didn't know nor care, "I-I-I ha-a-ave no-o-o clue whe-e-re it i-is!"

Jadon lets him go, dropping his fellow brunette to the floor. He begins massaging his temples to try and assuage the growing headache this bullshit is inducing... and figure out how the _hell_ they were gonna make it now. "By the Centra," he groans; the hope that this isn't an omen about the rest of the day quickly dying. His contemplation is interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, he makes sure the annoyance is clear on his face as he turns around, "What?!".

"I know where the classes are," Raiden announces without so much as a flinch, "Though I neglected the schedule, I did memorize a map of the school yesterday. What class do we have?"

"Grimm Studies,"

He nods and lifts a finger towards the window, "Then we can take the roof."

Oh, good, another option. Jadon raises a fist to his chin, pondering the idea. _Well, it's not a necessarily_ bad _idea... Let's check the clock._ The damned thing turns to 8:55 as soon as he eyes fall on it, that piece of shit was mocking him. _But, "not bad" is all we got._ He takes a step toward their impromptu exit.

"Let's go!" With that command, Jadon dashes forward. One hand slams the window open and he jumps to a nearby tree. Twisting in the air to face the opposite direction, the soles of his shoes touch the branch for only a moment before he jumps again, now facing the roof.

He lands in a crouch, a small dust cloud rising around him. _Thank God our dorm is on the top floor, scaling the wall would have been annoying and_ way _too slow._ Rising to his full height, he turns back just in time to find Raiden about halfway to the roof, flying at him from the tree, with Ichi landing on the tree limb. The cyborg hits with a roll, Ichigo touching down right after.

Jadon has to fight the instinct to lash out with a punch when Wade appears next to him in a swirl of energy.

Dusting himself off, the robo-soldier looks towards his leader with questioning eyes. It takes the electromancer a second to realize that he was looking for confirmation. The tanned brunette stops himself from shaking his head; Raiden's dedication to the chain of command is rather annoying sometimes, but, it's just the way he is, he accepted that a long time ago.

"Lead on," Jadon coaxes with playful sarcasm. The cyborg takes off at a run without a word, Jadon close behind, with Ichigo and Wade behind him.

"Excuse us! Sorry!"

The familiar voice draws Jadon's eyes to the campus grounds. Just in time to catch something pretty amusing, too. Both teams JNPR and RWBY are sprinting across the plaza ahead of them, obviously in the same situation as his own team. Except, they didn't think to take a shortcut. Instead, they took the long way around: barreling through the hallways and plaza of Beacon at top speed while doing their best not to maim anyone in the process.

Shaking his head, he turns his focus back to the path in front him...

 _Crap!_

To find a short wall in his way.

Snapping into autopilot, he dives forward, hands out. The impact of his palms against the top corner of the wall sends a shock through his body, but he barely feels it. Letting his arms bend in with the force ever so slightly, he pushes back out immediately.

Tucking his legs in and swinging his body forward as he goes, the push and momentum work together to send him up and over the wall. Finishing the maneuver by pushing back as soon as he makes it over and kicking his legs out, launching him from the wall and back into his sprint.

"I'm so glad I took the time to brush-up my parkour," he breaths; a mere brick wall wouldn't have stopped him – or even slowed him down, for that matter – but, paying for a wrecked wall was _not_ on his list of things to deal with.

The near collision avoided, his tunnel-vision fades and-…

Wait a minute...

He frantically searches around, but couldn't detect even a tuft of white-silver hair through the obstructions on the roof. Where the hell did Raiden go?

 _Damn it! I must've slowed down while I wasn't paying attention. Did I lose him?_

As if the universe was doing him a solid, Raiden's form briefly shows itself above the obstacles that block Jadon's view to the left. A sigh of relief loosens his chest as he takes off again; the bolt brain isn't too far. Though, he isn't close enough, either; all these obstructions are guaranteed to get them separated.

What he needs is a consistent bead on Raiden's back, Jadon looks around for a suitable route through the assortment of walls, gaps, and objects. _There!_ About seven meters ahead and to the right he can see a higher roof. Higher ground will give him a clear sight of the whole area.

His course set, Jadon veers to the right, weaving his way through the rooftop's various hazards with ease. Within seconds, he is feet away from the wall. He stops short, crouches slightly, and jumps. The small leap easily carrying him to the top of the twenty-or-so-foot tall wall. With a gentle landing, he settles back into a run.

 _That's better._

Now equipped with the higher ground and a clear path, he searches for Raiden once more. Jadon's gaze sweeps across the lower roof. _Gotcha!_ The cyborg is still running full tilt, leaping from obstacle to obstacle with Wade and Ichigo on his tail. Tracing his trajectory, Jadon determines that his metallic teammate is headed for a large gap between their current building, and the wall of a higher building.

Cupping his hands, Jadon calls out, "Raiden!" The ex-soldier glances to the left before looking up, making brief eye contact with Jadon. The silver-haired swordsman waves for him to come down and catch up.

The electromancer is eager to oblige, leaping off the ledge he had been running parallel to and back onto a raised wall on the lower roof. Once his footing is solid, he accelerates, following Raiden's example and jumping from obstacle to obstacle.

Going at a slow jog of sixty miles per hour, the air whistles as he passes. The distance between him and his cybernetic-guide shortens quickly, and soon he is overtaking Wade and Ichigo. Not long after Jadon falls into step beside Raiden.

Jadon speaks loudly to be heard over the sound of rushing air, "Where are we going!?" Instead of a verbal response, Raiden points somewhere in front of them. Jadon follows his finger and finds an open window on the wall of the building that they are rapidly approaching. It isn't hard to guess what they had to do. _Ooh, how fun!_

He passes Raiden and claims his place at the front of the pack.

Then came the gap.

Both legs bend as he leans over the dropoff. In the moment before takeoff, the world slows to a crawl as his perception is thrown into high-gear. _Objective is twenty feet away and eight feet up, minimal force required for success, thirty-three-degree launch angle for optimal flight arc._ He smiles as the world comes back into focus. _No biggie._ He leaps forward, sailing head first for the window, arms extending forward and…

Bullseye.

The young leader flies straight through the opening and his hands make contact with wood, his body tucking into a ball as he rolls with the impact. Immediately after the first roll, he uncurls into a power slide, letting friction dissipate his momentum and lift him to his feet.

As soon as he reaches a full stop, two more bodies hit the floor behind him; one with a distinct, metallic _ting_ that is only audible to him… And possibly any Faunus in the room… Great.

 _Ugh, at least the lax uniform policy allows accessories, the trench coat hides the cause. Whatever, problems for later. The pressing question is..._ "Where did the idiot go?" A _bamf_ from off to his left answers that question without delay, "Ah, there he is."

 _Well... that's everyone accounted for, so– Why is my back tingling?_

In the midst of patting down his ruffled blazer, Jadon becomes abruptly aware that the entire class is intently staring at him and his teammates in wide-eyed shock. The click of a closing door pulls his attention to the left side of the room. JNPR and RWBY are standing in the doorway, looking just as surprised as everyone else.

" _Ahem_ ," a gruff voice coughs behind him, drawing his – and everybody else's – attention to the stage.

"Well then," grumbles the portly, mustached man – who Jadon can only assume is the professor – standing there in a burgundy suit. "I can appreciate style lads, but," the man raises a bushy brow, "henceforth, can we try to make use of the _door_."

A hand unconsciously rises to scratch the back of Jadon's neck, this was _not_ gonna be a good day. "Yes, sir," he chuckles, trying his best to seem embarrassed, "My apologies. We woke up late, and the roof was the only way for us to arrive on time. It won't happen again," he looks to his team, "right guys?"

"Yes, sir."

"You got it, Prof."

" _Gomen, Sensei._ "

"Grand," the gray-haired professor declares, "now if you all would get to your seats, I can begin my story, posthaste!"

Jadon cocked his head. _What was that?_ He must have misheard the guy.

"Don't you mean 'class'?"

"Hmm?" Then the professor realizes what had come out of his mouth, "Oh! Ooh, yes! Class! Class is – _ahem_ – what I said." That wasn't at all convincing, but Jadon nods slowly anyway, better to not try a teacher's patience, "If you say so."

Leaving it at that, the leader of CBLT starts walking toward the seating area, "Come on guys," he says, "let's find some se–" He stops when he notices that they had all a disappeared. The tall brunette looks up and around, only to find that they were already plopped down next to RWBY and in front of JNPR. One seat remains empty, which is probably why they are all looking at him expectantly.

"Never mind, then," he mutters.

Jadon trudges his way up the steps and sidles his way past the seated students, drawing a few grumbles from those he nudges. Moments later, he drops into his own chair, which is, conveniently, right next to Ruby.

 _Like shit, this is a coincidence._

He glares at Wade out of the corner of his eye. Jadon isn't afraid to admit that he found the short crimsonette to be interesting and pleasant company, but Wade's insinuations were immensely irritating. He had met the girl only a _day_ ago _,_ for Christ's sake.

The ass catches his look, then gives a shrug and a cheeky grin from his seat on the other side of both Ichigo and Raiden. Jadon glares harder in response, the bastard is beyond reach for now. Jadon will just have to try and reserve murdering the red twit for later.

A nudge to his arm pulls him from his darker musings and prompts him to turn his head. He is rewarded with RuRu's bright smile and cheery disposition that, somehow, made the room a little brighter. "Hey," she chirps, and Jadon preens a little – on the inside – at how happy she is with his presence. "Hey, to you, too," Jadon returns her greeting with a chuckle, a grin pulling at his own lips.

"So," she begins, tilting her head in her habitually adorable manner, "crazy morning, huh?" Jadon gives a heavy sigh. _That is the perfect description – along with aggravating, but why complain at this point,_ "Meh, I guess."

The small huntress snorts at him for some reason, "Really? You ran across the roof _and_ dived through a window to get to class on time, but, ' _meh'_ is all you have to say about it?" _Oh, I get it now._ When she puts it like that, he can see how it's funny, "Heh, just another Tuesday for me, really. And It's _dove_ , by the way."

She laughs before giving him a light shove, "Whatever, Jadon!" She sighs and slouches slightly in her seat, "I just wish I had thought to take the roof, too."

"Easy for you to say," Jaune chimes in, "Some of us aren't quite as nimble as you two. Not even a _lifetime_ of leg days would get us any closer to your level."

"Preach it," snickers the most annoying man on the planet.

"Behold," Jadon whisper-yells, eyes wide with mock awe, "Two lesser mortals that are perfect representations of the term 'butthurt'. Here's an idea: instead of whining like bitches, why don't you go and _git gud_." The lesser mortals' in question can only splutter with indignation. A fit of giggles comes from RuRu, "Nice one, Jadon!"

SIck Burn: Successful.

 _Maybe I can reduce my vengeance to just... light maiming. This is pretty enjoyable._

"Greetings, my young proteges!" Jadon whips his head toward the suddenly boisterous teacher; if he was a lesser individual, that would have startled him. "I am Peter Port," _So, that's his name, huh? it seems a little... on the nose_ ," renowned Huntsman throughout our grand Kingdom of Vale!"

A tap on his right shoulder, he looks, Ruby is smiling at him mischievously, "Yeah, RuRu?" She leans into his ear, snickering, "If that was true," she whispers, "wouldn't we have heard of him?" He snorts, she is right about that, today is the first time he's ever heard the guy's name, "I know I sure haven't."

"Of course," the professor continues, "You all may address me as _Professor_ Port!" He releases a deep, Santa-esque laugh that causes his large belly to jiggle like a mound of jello, even though he hadn't said anything even remotely amusing. "And so," he adds, "I welcome you all to your first class at Beacon Academy," his thick mustache tilts in what is probably a grin – the hair makes it hard to tell – before he swings his arms out with gusto, "Grimm Studies!"

Jadon immediately feels his heart twist with intense disdain for this class. Apparently, it is headed by a showboating idiot. The urge to slam his head on the desk makes itself present, however, he ignores it.

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night," Port strokes his mustache, "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names." He slams a fist against his chest, producing a fleshy slap, "But I call them… _Prey_!"

… _This is gonna be a slow, unpleasant day… isn't it…_

* * *

By the time Port's class was halfway over, 68% of the students had passed out from sheer boredom, 24% had fallen into deep conversation with their teams, and 8% were _actually_ paying attention – some had even been taking notes. (*c _ough_ * Ice Princess. * _cough*_ )

Jadon wants _desperately_ to join that 68%, but, at the same time, he doesn't want to draw the portly professor's attention. Again.

He had tried to put his head down and slip into blissful slumber 10 minutes into the lecture, but as soon as his head touched the oak wood, Port went silent, then called Jadon's name. What awaited the poor boy when he responded, was a trap.

The professor only asked, 'am I boring you?'. An easy question… with no simple answer. In his head, the response was a loud 'Yes!', however, responding with that was just begging for misery.

It left him stuck between possible detention on the first day, and the blissful release called sleep. Hmmm, Risk an extension of his current misery in exchange for a blissful, yet brief, escape…?

No deal.

Jadon was forced to say no, and remain completely aware as the mustached professor resumed talking about his uncle that smelled like cabbages. Whatever the hell for? He had _no_ clue.

 _This is definitely payback for diving in through the window…_

So here he is, a quarter of the class left 'till he could finally leave. He would have lost his already tenuous sanity by now... if it weren't for the antics of a certain red-hooded shorty – as childish as they were.

So far, RuRu had treated him, Jaune, and the rest of their teams to a funny caricature of Professor 'Poop', her somehow managing to balance three textbooks on top of an apple on the tip of a No. 2 Pencil – which fell seconds after she stacked them, but the feat, however brief, was impressive – and the sight of her creating a puddle of sleep-induced drool on her desk. Even now, she is casually scratching inside her right nostril, not giving a _single_ shit about who notices.

Of course, that just has to be spoiled by the look on the Schnee's face. With her sitting on the other side of Ruby, he can clearly see her whenever he looks toward the little red huntress-in-training. It had steadily gotten worse with each of the aforementioned bits of tomfoolery; going from intense annoyance to boiling disgust and outrage.

 _I bet if she tried to cast some ice right now, it would melt before even fully forming. Purely from proximity._

"The moral of the story?"

Hold up. That sounds dangerously like the beginning of a genuine _point_... from _Port_. Jadon had known the professor for only 3 hours, and yet he just _knows_ this was a rare occurrence. The heterochromatic moves his attention from Weiss' beet-red face and looks to Port convinced that the Rapture had begun. "A True Huntsman must be dependable," he declares.

 _Holy crap baskets of Sleipnir, it is_.

"A True Huntsman must be strategic," huh, he hadn't heard anything invol–... wait, what is that grinding noise?

"A True Huntsman must be well-educated," Professor Port continues while the brunette twists his head around, searching the room for the source of that grinding as the noise grows louder by the second. It resembles nails being dragged across a chalkboard, and that was only amplified by his sensitive ears.

"And, a True Huntsman must be wise," the grinding reaches its peak and Jadon realizes that all the Faunus in the room are staring at something. Following their lines of sight, what does he find?

An irate Weiss Schnee is grinding her teeth together; the friction producing a sound so high in pitch, that only those with animal-like senses could hear it. Her body is violently twitching with rage while she glares daggers at her leader – who is still scratching her nose, oblivious – and seems about ready to explode with the force of a thousand supernovas.

"So," the professor queries, "who among you believe themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Jadon could practically hear the pull of the proverbial grenade pin and catches the glint in Weiss' eyes before she makes her move. She senses an opportunity, and quickly acts to seize it.

Unfortunately, for her, he can move a _lot_ quicker.

"Me."

"Me, sir!

He got his hand in the air, and projected his answer, just before Snow Cone yelled hers, "I do, Professor," he affirms. He looks to the heiress to gauge her reaction… and what he finds gives him no small sense of satisfaction. The brat was standing rigid, her face a blank slate, and she slowly shifts her gaze from Port to him. As soon as she sees the smug look that he couldn't resist displaying, her expression morphs into an ugly scowl. The attempt to discredit her superior officer had been utterly foiled.

 _Serves you right for being so obnoxious._

Port guffaws. "Well then," he chortles, walking around to the back of his desk. "I was going to have the brave soul who stood–" he grunts with effort and out came a cage filled completely with shadow, his blunder-axe sitting on top of it. The only thing Jadon could see in dark confines was a pair of glowing red eyes that brim with malice. Dusting his hands, the professor finished his challenge with a jovial, "prove it!"

Jadon stares down at the cage for a beat, his eyebrows knitting together with befuddlement. His eyes flit back to the professor, "Professor Port," he asks hesitantly, dreading the kind nonsense that will come out of the older man's mouth, "You do realize that it is against _several_ school regulations to bring a _live Grimm_ onto the campus, right?"

The rotund – and apparently daft – Senior Huntsman simply expels another of his trademark belly-guffaws, "My dear boy, rules are merely _precautions_ that were set in place by the faint of heart," he places both fists on his sides, attempting to look inspiring. "As Huntsmen," he winks at Yang, making her shiver with disgust, "And Huntresses, we must be daring, for the brave never hide behind _regulations_. We are-"

That last part wasn't true. "So," the lightning-tosser argues, "you're calling the good officers of the military that protect our kingdom's borders _cowards_ , sir. They practically _live_ by their regulations."

The infuriating man just shrugs and waves him off, like he hadn't just made a valid point, "There's an exception to every rule, young man." The fact that this guy can contradict himself with such brazen confidence is… mind boggling!

Jadon raises a finger, ready and willing to argue his point, but falters when he realizes it would be a wasted effort on this hairy buffoon. How in the hell was this moron a _teacher_?

"Go on FL," eggs Wade, Jadon glanced over to find a shit-eating grin on his face, "show us all what a _True Huntsman_ can do."

 _And I'm right back to wanting to murder you, asshole._

Barely stopping himself from telling red-clad chatterbox to shove it, the electromancer gives the mutant a dark scowl that promises lots of suffering. Turning back to the professor, he growls, " _Fine_ ," and stalks his way down to the stage.

"Actually," the professor muses, stopping Jadon halfway down, "what I was going to say was that, since _two_ brave souls so valiantly volunteered, I would have _them_ fight."

He punctuates this by grabbing his blunder-axe, spinning it in one hand, and stopping it to fire two shots into the cage; the pained squeals of the dying creature being followed by black smoke rising from the small prison. It was all done in one fluid motion, without even a moment's hesitation.

It takes Jadon a moment to figure out what just happened, but, when he does... the savage grin that splits his face is irrepressible. "I get to fight Snow Cone?"

The nod is all he needs, "I'm gonna enjoy this immensely."

"I doubt you'll be saying that after I show you your _proper_ place, filthy barbarian," hisses the brat's voice from directly behind him; she must have gotten up and walked down the steps after the professor's little display.

Oh-ho-ho, She wants to play that game, huh? Okay, alright, fine, then he'll have to show this bitch how it's really done. "Look, Weiss, I know that I'm incredibly sexy and all," he pauses, turns his head just far enough to have Weiss at the corner of his vision, and grins, "But can you _please_ hop off my dick? You are _so_ not my type."

The whole classroom erupts.

All 30 or so students start hooting and hollering. Yells of, 'She wasn't ready!', 'Ha! She thought it was!', and other phrases he couldn't identify merging into a cacophony of hype. The Schnee had been sneering as he talked, but the sneer dropped and her eyes became wide as dinner plates once he finished. As the saying goes; check yo'self, before you wreck yo'self.

Now, as the noise from the rest of the class dies down with anticipation of her response, Snow Cone's brain seems to finish processing the overwhelming audacity of what had come out of his mouth. Though, instead of the very loud – and possibly violent – reaction he had prepared for, she does the complete opposite. A cold, detached expression replaces the look of blank shock… and she just starts walking. No glare, no biting retort, she just… walks. Jadon can't help but stare, befuddled as she moves around him on her way down the stairs.

Shrugging, he follows, ignoring the whispers being passed around about what just happened.

They leave the room and navigate the hallways in tense silence… Well… the Schnee was tense, Jadon was practically serene. She must be repressing and molding her anger, turning it into a cold, sinister determination to… most likely attempt causing him severe harm. He completes this minor deduction as their destination enters view. They come upon and enter the locker room, splitting to head for their respective lockers.

After inputting his code on the door's keypad, the locker swings open gently to grant him access. With a backward step, he begins taking off the school uniform, stripping down until only his boxers remain. He reaches into the locker and pulls out his suit. He steps into the armored apparel and pulls it up before sliding each arm into their sleeve. Legs and arms in, he presses the mask to his chin, then reaches to press the activation button. With series of quiet clicks, the suit closes around him. He reaches in again, pulls out his jacket, and slips it on.

He now stands fully-armored, ready for the coming fight. For a moment, he considers the pair of bracers and cartridges that still sat in the locker. Should he take his weapons? With a shake of his head, he decides to leave them. They were all specifically designed for lethal force, Bringing them into a non-lethal fight would probably be unwise. _Bare hands it is, then._ After giving the door a soft nudge, his locker closes and locks itself with a beep.

 _Alright, that's that._ He turns from his locker.

And just barely sees the tip of a white ponytail at the bottom of his peripheral vision before he starts walking.

Jadon shifts his sight downwards, and eventually makes contact with a pair of icy blues staring up at him. He and Weiss just stand there for a moment, saying nothing, and he can't help but note what an interesting pair they make.

They're practically complete opposites; His height to her shortness, his tanned skin to her pale complexion, his relaxed stance to her rigid one, his black and blue battle-suit to her puffy white dress and bolero… Interesting indeed.

They manage to just stand and stare for about fifteen seconds before he gets sick of the silence, "Do you need something, Princess?"

She says nothing at first and just continues to stare him down. Another few seconds pass before he shrugs it off and walks around her.

Or, he would have... if it wasn't for the sudden grip on his arm.

A growl rumbles from his chest at the unwelcome contact. He has half-a-mind to just keep walking, even if he ends up dragging her along. _She is really,_ really _trying my patience._ "For the last time," he seethes, "What... Do... You... Want...?"

The grip tightens as a curt, quiet voice pierces the air between them,

"When I win, I demand an apology for all the rude, vulgar, and disrespectful things you've said to me. In addition, you will stop meddling in my affairs. If you continue to do so, I will not be able to prevent myself from causing you severe harm, despite the consequences. Have I made myself clear?"

Jadon is quite done with this bullshit.

With a scoff, he reaches his other hand across his body. His fingers wrap around Weiss's pale wrist and give a sharp twist. Weiss shrieks in pain at the sudden pressure being exerted on her wrist and immediately relinquishes her own grip; opting to try fighting her way out of his grasp.

"Schnee." Her eyes snap to his, and he has to contain a smile at the terrified look on her face, "I will give you this warning once, and once only." He leans in slowly, until they practically nose to nose, "don't you ever. Ever. Threaten me again." He tightens his grip, eliciting wince, "It. Pisses. Me. _**Off**_."

With his point made, Jadon releases the Schnee's wrist and continues to the door, dropping her unceremoniously on her ass. He exits the room without even a backward glance.

* * *

Jadon returns to the class with an eager air about him, seeming quite satisfied with the idea of violence. Not too far behind is Weiss, thrumming with cold fury, and radiating killing intent.

Climbing onto the stage, Jadon turns his eyes to Port, only to see a look of confusion on his doughy, bushy, and oh-so-punchable face.

"What," he demands, voice coming out in an irritated growl. Why can't he just get this therapeutic ass-beating on the road?

The teacher looks him up and down thoroughly before asking, "Aren't you going to retrieve your weapons, Mr. Chimalis?"

Jadon shakes his head, "They are designed specifically for lethality, they have no place in a spar. Besides, winter would come to Hell before I let someone like Weiss cause me any real harm," he states plainly, getting a couple jeers from someone in the class consisting of things like 'show off' and 'asshole', but Jadon didn't even spare a glance to see who it was. They weren't worth his acknowledgment.

Port just stares at him for a moment… then the ends of his mustache turn up with a true smile, "I like the spunk, dear boy," he compliments with a chuckle, lifting a hand to stroke his chin in consideration. A few seconds later, "Very well," he relents, "Let us begin!"

The hairy-faced man steps off the stage, then turns back to look at them. He glances between Jadon and Weiss, "You both know how these spars are managed. Correct?" Jadon catches a stiff nod from Weiss out of the corner of his eye, he does the same. The teacher nods, acknowledging their confirmations, but shrugs anyway, "Well, In any case, I'll give a brief explanation, there are those who aren't aware among the crowd."

Port holds out his hand, "If you would both bring out your scrolls, please?" Jadon reaches into his jacket's pocket, Weiss as well, and they both withdraw their scrolls. "Thank you, children," he nods, and he turns to a panel that juts from the edge of the stage. His fingers glide across the controls for a moment, and a large holo-vision appears in the top left portion of the wall.

With another set of button presses, Jadon's scroll lights up, and both his and Weiss' pictures show up on the photos move to the left as a green bar appears beside each of them.

"The green bars," Port begins to explain, "represent the Aura levels of each combatant." Both bars reduce to about a tenth of their original size and turn a flashing red as a buzzer sounds. "The match ends when one of the fighter's Auras reaches the red zone, and that buzzer will signify as such," he finishes explaining, and both bars return to green.

The large man grins as claps his hands together, "With that out of the way, would you both please take your positions?" Jadon complies immediately, moving to the left side of the stage and turning to face his opponent. He watches as she draws her blade, then takes a ready position akin to that of a fencer. He, however, just relaxes all his muscles, and puts his hands in his jacket pockets. A fierce fire flickers in Weiss' eyes for a moment before being smothered once again, a smile lets her know that he caught it.

"Ready," announced Port's voice, and Jadon looks to see the old man's hand twitching over the console, "Go!" Port's hand smacks the console, and the buzzer sounds–

"Waaaaiiit!"

Jadon looks to the stands – the others occupants of the room turn, confused – already aware of who that was, "Yes, Wade? What's the problem?"

The red-clad psycho stands up, and it takes everyone awhile to comprehend what he's holding.

"Where the hell did he get that!?" The reason everyone yells this is because Wade is, in fact, holding a large – previously nonexistent – boombox over his head.

"FL, you forgot your tunes," he says without so much as a flinch, "All kickass fight scenes need equally kickass tunes. It's an essential part of engaging the audience!" The electromancer smiles, "Your right. Play something… quick and fun." Wade nods,"You got it!"

Jadon looks away, and his gaze lands back on the girl that is to be his opponent. It takes her a moment, as she is still watching Wade, but she eventually notices the feeling of being watched. Swiftly, she snaps back into her ready position and gives him her full focus.

"DJ DP, in the house!"

And the music starts.

 _...I recognize that guitar… "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas, huh? Wonderful selection, Wade!_

Weiss lowers her stance, obviously looking to start with a straight lunge.

Her knees bend, ready to attack.

And just like that, she's rushing at him, sword arm cocked back for a stab.

She comes within strike range and her arm flashes forward at an impressive speed. For Jadon, however, she looks as if she's moving through gelatin. Leisurely, he turns his body ninety-degrees to the right.

Her blade flies by within inches of Jadon's face and the rest of the heiress quickly follows. Stabbing her blade into the ground, she spins around to face him as she skids to a stop.

A grin crosses his scarred face, "That all you got, Snow Cone?"

With a growl that makes Jadon's grin grow wider, she lowers her stance once again. He sincerely doubts she was dumb enough to try the same tactic, this next attack is probably gonna come with a twist.

She comes at him with another straight lunge, and for a moment, Jadon sincerely doubts Wess' intelligence. However, he continues to watch intently… and notices that her eyes aren't focused on him. Instead, she's staring at a spot a few feet in front of him. He watches the same spot, and a small blue-white light starts to appear.

In his state of hyper-awareness, Jadon can clearly see the light expand to become a circle and begin filling with odd symbols. He had heard about the Schnee line's special semblance, and now he gets to see it in action.

Weiss is casting a glyph.

Weiss lands on the newly made glyph, and it swings around, launching her to Jadon's left at high speed. A circle of glyphs appears around Jadon and he suddenly feels a bit excited. if he imagined a unit circle, each glyph was about 10 degrees apart, meaning that Discount-Elsa had manifested about 36 launch pads that she could choose from at will.

Jadon's eyes follow Weiss intently as she soars toward the next glyph. She lands in a horizontal crouch, looks 'up', and flies at him like a human-sized bullet.

Leaning back, Jadon soundly avoids a slash to the neck. He keeps his eyes on the Heiress as she lands on the next glyph, and immediately launches to another off to his right, and one to the left from there, and another, and another, all while accelerating with each jump.

She suddenly flies straight toward him again, and he feels the wind pressure as he crouches down. He can't stay still though as she immediately comes back for another pass. He falls onto his back, letting Snow Cone fly over him, and immediately pops back up.

 _Shit._ Jadon had let Weiss out of his sight for a fraction of a second during that last dodge, and now she is just a white silhouette bouncing around randomly. the electromancer prepares himself for the next attack, lowering his stance.

She was still accelerating and was actually starting to fade from his vision. If this continued, he might actually have to start trying. Establishing the pecking order requires a thorough thrashing, nothing less is acceptable.

 _ **10'o'clock.**_

Without so much as a thought, Jadon turns that way and claps his hands together in front of his face. His instinctual reaction is rewarded with the feeling of metal between his palms.

Stopped cold, Weiss' returns to the visible spectrum, and her glyphs shatter.

She glances from her blade, caught between Jadon's palms, up to his grinning face and scowls. She moves to leap back, but Jadon won't let her off that easy, shoving her blade and knocking the smaller girl off balance.

Capitalizing on her stumble, he moves after her, cocking back his left arm for a lazy jab to the collarbone.

She catches her footing just in time to duck under his fist. Jadon feigns an overextension. Weiss immediately moves into his guard, going for a stab to his kidney... Perfect.

The electromancer plants his left foot and pushes back, pivoting on his right foot around the blade, and uses that momentum to fire a right hook.

An incredibly satisfying look of 'oh shit' spreads across the Schnee's face as she realizes she can't dodge. It is definitely becoming one of his prized memories after this.

The impact is massive, creating a visible ripple through Weiss's pale blue Aura and her cheek as she is sent spinning through the air. Jadon returns to his casual stance, watching Weiss bounce across the floor with a smirk. The heiress eventually rolls to a stop twenty feet away, ending up on her side with her back to him, and the music that had been blasting pauses. He glances at the overhead to find that he had taken almost a fifth of Weiss's Aura with that hit. She continues to just lay there, and Jadon feels disappointment weigh on his shoulders. _If one half-baked hook was enough to knock her out–_

A twitch.

Jadon's previous glee returns as Snow Cone rolls over onto her stomach, slowly getting her hands underneath her. She attempts to push herself up on shaky arms but collapses back to the floor with a gasp of pain. She stays there for a moment, but he can hear her taking deep breaths, trying to collect her scrambled thoughts. Then, with a grunt of effort, she manages to push herself to a knee. He sees her wince before she rests a hand on the side of her face.

"Hey," she gives him a weak glare, "If you forfeit," her glare gains some heat, "I promise I won't laugh at you…," he chuckles, "Much."

She growls and pushes herself the rest of the way up, she stumbles a little, but, quickly regaining her feet. "I," she huffs, "am _not_ done," she levels her rapier at his chest, "I am only just beginning!"

The music begins playing once more, and her free hand swipes across the revolving dust chamber built into her rapier's hilt. Twirling around, she raises her sword high. With a click, the chamber stops spinning and a light blue glow envelopes her blade.

She grins, "My turn."

Weiss thrusts her blade into the floor, and a tsunami of ice spikes rush from the point of contact. Jadon acknowledges the attack's size with an appreciative whistle; she has a good amount of power, he'll give her that... however...

 _Sorry, Snow Cone, but that's still not enough. All you've done is give me cover._

Before the glacial wave can get in close, the electromancer leaps to side and lands just outside the attacks range. He immediately starts jogging down its length, then jumps on top of one the spikes. He lands in a crouch, and finds Weiss still on her knee at the icy slope's bottom; the tip of her Dust Rapier in the floor, and a victorious smile on her face. _A bit early for celebration, Ice Princess._ Keen on making her regret this fact, Jadon launches forward with his right fist cocked back–

"Weiss! Above you!"

And completely misses, his fist burying itself in the floorboards instead of the Heiress's face. That warning was just in time to allow Weiss to look up, see him, and throw herself to the side just before contact.

Jadon rips his hand from the floor and whips toward the stands, pissed that someone had interfered and not understanding why that someone had done so in the first place, "What the hell, Ruby!? I had that!"

The small girl crosses her arms and yells back, "What did you expect me to do, Jadon!? My partner needed help!"

"But–"

"I didn't need your help, dunce!"

Jadon looks back, bewildered. If anyone has a right to be pissed, it was him, not the one who just got her ass pulled from the fire. _Does she really think_ that _little of Ruby_?

"Oh, come on, Weiss," Ruby yells to her ingrate of a partner, "You didn't even see him coming! If I hadn't said anything, you would have a throbbing bruise for a face right now!"

"I would have blocked his attack," is the bullshit that Snow Cone lets leave her mouth.

"If you woul-"

"QUIET, ROSE!" The heiress's scream kills Ruby's voice mid-sentence.

The crimsonette shrinks back into her seat, hurt blooming in her expression. That's it. The kiddie gloves are coming off.

The frigid bitch starts to turn as she addresses Jadon, "Now then, let us res-"

Blazing blue and yellow.

 ***CRACK***

Darkness...

She suddenly feels her back impact with something hard and sinks into it. She has no clue what just happened, her mind is fuzzy and can't seem to process the stimuli around her, or get her body to respond to any commands.

Eventually, her mind starts to clear, but with it came throbbing pain. Her whole body hurt on a massive scale, but the source of it seems to be her Solar Plexus.

What... just... _happened_?

Weiss barely hears something through the ringing.

"An-Ja-n-lis-wi-s!"

What was that? She must have said that aloud because the noise repeats with more clarity.

"And Jad-Chim-ins!"

She still can't hear it.

"And Jadon Chimalis wins!"

... _What_?

Weiss was finally lucid enough to understand her situation. Raising her head, despite her body's protest, she finds that she had been embedded in the stages left wall… somehow. She tries to recall what happened, and slowly the memories start to reform.

She was turning around to continue the match after cowing her 'leader' and… and he was there, eyes alight with fury. Jadon had closed the distance in that single instant and struck her hard enough in the stomach to briefly knock her out and bury her in the far wall.

That. Underhanded. Son. Of. A. _Whore._

She extricates herself from the wall, hissing at the pain, and cradles her tender stomach with an arm, limping off the stage as that _bastard_ receives his congratulations.

"Well, then," chuckles Port as he steps back onto the stage, "That was impressive, young Jadon!" Once he's next to the younger man, the Huntsman claps his shoulder, sparking an inward debate of the pros and cons behind snapping the man-child's arm, "The calm ferocity and overwhelming is the hallmark of any skilled huntsman-to-be, I look forward to following your career!"

 _Ha, that's cute, this fat bastard thinks I'm some bright-eyed novice. Oh, ignorance of the uninformed, how amusing you are._ Jadon did appreciate the praise, though, and gave the professor a terse nod of acceptance.

Jadon feels Port's hand lift from his shoulder as he shifts to address the class, "There you have it, young hunters," he gestures to the holoscreen, which is displaying his full Aura above Weiss's red sliver. "That is how a huntsman is meant to perform, I hope you watched intently and took this opportunity to learn from your peer."

Jadon flicks his vision to the clock.

If he wasn't in front of a crowd of students – and Wade – the relief would have brought him to his knees.

"Look at the time," Port proclaims, following Jadon's blank stare, "I must say farewell to you all, for now. You are all dismissed!" The rotund man quickly turns and heads into his office, the door swinging shut behind him.

The slamming door snaps Jadon out of his mental celebration, he immediately scurries off the stage and up the stairs, eager to get his things and continue with his day. He has to push his way past students just as eager as he is to escape. After nearly tripping into a rabbit Faunus he didn't know, bowling past that burly redhead from initiation (Carrr… Carlo?), and weaving around Jaune, he makes it back to his seat and his belongings – his team already gone. With a haste that could only be spawned by desperation, Jadon ducks down and starts shoving his things into his bag. Honestly, he doubts that Port isn't gonna try and get recompense for the damage he caused to that wall.

 _I need to be long gone, just in case._

Unfortunately, just as he is going to jump up and join the rush for freedom, a white high-heel containing a pale foot steps on his belongings.

The room grows colder by several degrees, and the roar of bustling students fades to a dull hum. Refusing to look up, Jadon's voice came out in a deep, rumbling growl, "Schnee… Remove. Your foot. This. _Instant_."

He heard a scoff, and the loud pulsing of blood in his ears became thunderous. "You have interfered with me twice too many times, _ruffian_ ," she hisses, and he watches her heel grind into his bag, "Don't make it thrice...The only reason you won is that I was distracted, it won't happen again."

He takes a deep breath to calm down. She is working his last nerve with her bullshit. And didn't he specifically tell her not to threaten him again?

 _ **Should we mangle her?**_

 _...Nah, that would be an unnecessary amount of effort, and the trouble afterward would be a pain. I think I'll just lay the verbal smackdown, see how that goes... When did you wake up anyway?_

 _ **As you say. As long as she is properly put in her place, I don't care. Ah, and I awoke during your 'fight'.**_

He looks up, making sure his face shows nothing of his emotion, and stares the Schnee straight in the eyes, "I will say this once more… and once more only. Remove your foot… Or–" his gaze sharpens, and the annoyance flinches, her hand subconsciously covering her stomach, "I'll simply remove it _myself_. And I guarantee that it will be _highly_ unpleasant… For you, that is." He smirks in a way that any passerby will think it is friendly, but the Schnee is fully aware of its cold edge, "Is that what you want?"

Her bravado deflates almost immediately, and she quickly steps off his bag. He stands slowly, never breaking his gaze, and slings his bag over his shoulder. His smirk becomes a smile, but his eyes show his true feelings, "Thanks a bunch, Princess." At the sound of the jab, annoyance brings back some of the Schnee's backbone, " _Don't_ call me that," she growled.

 _ **Hmm, braver than I thought.**_

His shark-like grin widens at the challenge, "When you show some respect, I'll consider it."

She snarls, "And why should I do that?! Unlike you and the dunce, I've actually studied and trained to attend this prestigious academy! Immature idiots like you two shouldn't even be on campus, let alone attending classes!" All the while, she is pointing an accusatory finger at him, but, fortunately for her, she isn't touching him this time.

 _ **I understand your dislike for her. She's annoying.**_

Jadon snorts at her claim – and his head-buddy's little comment. Shrugging, he closes his eyes, and makes a show of being completely nonplussed, "Immature idiots, huh? Are you sure you should be saying that?" The little brat opens her mouth to yell again, "I mean, isn't it pretty immature to walk around with an attitude, because somebody else got to be team leader?"

The Schnee's mouth clamps shut with an audible click.

"That's what I thought," he sighs, turning to leave, but she apparently has more to say.

"You know nothing…"

He stops. The fun part is about to start, "What was that?"

"You know _nothing_. All Rose has demonstrated from the moment I've met her is complete incompetence and a lack of discipline. She is not – and never will be – leader material." He can feel her icy stare boring into his back as she speaks, her voice gaining heat with each word, "And you… You have been nothing but belligerent, vulgar, and utterly infuriating. Even going as far as to abuse your teammates in front of others, with no reservation, whatsoever! You do have skill, I'll give you that, but your horrible personality and lack of restraint completely outweigh it." Her tone becomes edged with arrogance, "I, however, have dedicated years of my life to becoming a Huntress, I _earned_ the right to be called a leader."

 _ **Shut her up. Everything she just said made me violently angry.**_

Jadon heaves a deep sigh, before slowly turning around. His eyes opening to reveal an intense gaze as his devil-may-care attitude turns gravely serious. "I care not for your petulant entitlement, brat," he rumbles, "All you are, is a spoiled imp that has been spoon-fed all that she could ever desire since _conception_. And as for my 'lack of restraint', I could have snapped your neck with that first punch if I desired it." His arms cross with a derisive scoff, " _You_ may have the skill, but _your_ utter lack of humility and respect for others completely outweigh it." she flinches at having her own words thrown back at her, but she still wouldn't back down.

"How _dare_ you! That is not even _remotely_ true! If anyone suffers a lack of respect, it is _you_!"

Jadon laughs, but it is a short, bitter sound completely devoid of humor, "I guess we should add unchecked vanity to the list, also." He slowly leans down until he was eye-level with the snow-haired heiress, only a scant few inches between their faces, "I treat my teammates like that because we all have a mutual understanding of one another, they are like my brothers. It is simply the interaction born of familiarity. You cannot fathom the experiences that we've shared, so, do not _judge_ what you do not _understand_." The tall boy laughs again, "And you know what? That's why I judge you. I know _exactly_ why you were about to pull that stunt earlier when Port asked for a volunteer. You have this _ridiculous_ notion that, if you were to _show up_ your leader, the higher-ups would _magically_ think you're a better one."

This girl isn't used to actual arguments, Jadon is able to tell that much. The incessant fidgeting and the way she keeps breaking eye-contact are the most obvious tells. However, she wasn't ready to give in yet, judging by her firm footing. "I-if I show myself to be more capable," she stutters, "The Headmaster will have to acknowl-"

"Shut. Up."

The heiress clamps her mouth shut for the second time as she seems to shrink in on herself. Jadon waits a beat – glaring to ensure her silence – before continuing with a low, even tone, "If you want to be acknowledged, show that you can be a good _teammate_ , before a good leader. Instead of doing everything in your power to bring Ruby _down_ , raise her _up_."

The Schnee just stares at him, bewildered, but he finds the slightest bit of curiosity showing through the disdain in her eyes, so he continues, "Trying to compete for a position – that you have been deemed unsuited for, anyway – is just going to create strife, stress, and anger. Even the death of your team if you let it cloud your judgment in the field." He crosses his arms. It seems that he has blasted far enough past her shell for her to register and accept his advice. "You may not be the leader," he lectures, "but you are the second-in-command. As the second-in-command, it is your duty to support your leader; shore up their weaknesses, amplify their strengths. She's already kind, strong, capable, and wise… on occasion. _But_ ," his assertion nips a mounting retort in the bud, "she's young and has much to learn… As her second _and_ elder, you should be sharing your knowledge. Teach her what she needs to know so that she can _grow…_ and become the leader you feel you deserve, and that we all know she can be."

The heiress cast her gaze to the floor, he could see the conflicting emotions rushing through her mind as they flit across her face; confusion, anger, disbelief, the list goes on. He stands patiently nonetheless, the fact that she is no longer trying to chew his face off marking progress. Progress so soon shows that he _might_ have been quick to judge the young heiress. He still doesn't like her though; too uptight.

Jadon raises a brow as the Schnee brings her eyes back to his own. He can see a question in the turquoise gaze, "Why are you being so civil?"

Jadon blinks… then blinks again…. That had not been what he expected at all, "Come again?"

She sighs, but nonetheless obliges, and even elaborates, "You have made it abundantly clear that you find me repulsive, and I have done nothing but reciprocate; so, I have to ask: Why are you being so civil?"

He stares at her, considering the inquiry. That is an easy question to answer, but it was surprisingly insightful of her to ask. He smiles – genuinely, this time – and decides to reward her with honesty. "Because you obviously needed some knowledge dropped on that big, snowy head of yours," he jabs…

He didn't say it was gonna be _pleasant_ honesty.

Just like back in the plaza, she doesn't take to kindly to his shenanigans. "Why you- I'd- I don't… UGH!"

With that, she stomps past him – limp still present, pride torn, confidence shaken, and mind whirring with self-reflection. All in a day's work, really.

Just before she disappears through the door he calls out, "Make sure to stop by the nurse!"

 _Well... that was pretty productive, if I do say so myself._ A large grin on his face, he heads toward the exit and out into the hallway. His team waiting by the door with knowing looks on their faces.

He completely misses the small figure that rose from behind some nearby seats, silver eyes wide and twinkling.

As well as the ajar office door.

* * *

"So," Wade asks, "How did the princess take her wake-up call."

Only sparing a glance to his teammate and partner, Jadon keeps his gaze on his path – keeping an eye out for their room, "Whatever are you referring to, Wade? I have no idea."

The mercenary just glares at the back of his leader's head as he expands on his inquiry, "You know what I mean. We saw Snow Pea hang back in the classroom, then walk out with a look on her face like somebody tortured her puppy, shot it, then promptly defecated on it. And not the normal defecate, either. It was wet, runny and green… with the consistency of chunky-"

"ALRIGHT," Jadon – coming to a full stop – interrupts, before the image can take root and fester. He winces, though, as he notices that his yell had drawn a few curious glances, but, they quickly move on. With a prompting glare, of course.

Once the other students go back to being about their own business, Jadon starts again, quietly this time, "Alright. Yes, she confronted me. Sooo, naturally, I took the opportunity to drop some reincarnating warrior wisdom."

Ichigo's eyes went wide – a slight margin to anyone else, but it's basically the ginger shinigami's equivalent to opened-mouthed shock – with mortification. " _You told her,_ " he demanded in a harsh whisper.

The electromancer's answer is a flat look and a counter-question, "Should I be offended that you think I'm that stupid?" If he didn't know Ichigo better, Jadon _would_ have been honestly offended. What kind of _idiot_ just up and tells somebody that they're an inter-universal badass sent to save their world?

With an apologetic scowl, the soul reaper shook his head, "No, Jae-san, I know you've got better judgment than that. Sorry."

Of course, being the kind soul that he is, Jadon just waves it off with a sigh, "It's fine, dude. But, you gotta work on that habit of jumping to conclusions." His attention returns to his summary, "So, anyway, I told her that she needs to be there to help Ruby, not topple her."

"That still doesn't answer the question, sir," inserts Raiden, "How well did she receive the advice?"

Jadon sighs again, "Straight to the point as always, Metal Mouth." _They are being awfully insistent about this. I mean, I could understand wanting to case for a threat, but the Schnee_ barely _qualifies; only because of potential at that!_

 _ **It's her connections. They'd rather not risk the ire of the SDC.**_

 _Yes. Like I said: potential._

"I'm not sure," he admits, "Her feelings on the matter seemed really conflicted – probably because it came from the guy who literally just wrecked her shit. Therefore, we'll have to wait and see."

Jadon turns, continuing back down the hallway, "Now, where is- Aha!" He finally finds their dorm. Entering quickly, they drop their school items in the common room and continue into the bedroom. They all change out of their uniforms and into their casual clothes. Of course, casual for them is really just their combat attire – except for Jadon, that is.

A dude in an armored bodysuit isn't exactly casual. So instead, he slips into a pair of grey cargos, a black tank-top, blue and yellow tennis-shoes, a short-sleeved version of his combat jacket, and rests a pair of blue-framed sunglasses on his forehead.

WIth all of COBT in proper attire, they move back into the common room and make for the door. Jadon stops with his hand on the knob, and turns to his companions, "Alright. since it's an acclimation week, we get to spend the rest of our day as we see fit. Considering this, we have two choices."

He lifts his index finger, "One, we could explore the grounds to get used to navigating."

 _We could case the school for escape routes, meeting spots, defensible locations, and possible secrets._

He lifts his middle finger, "Or, two, we can go out into Vale and spend the day walking about."

 _We can go to Vale and make our rounds amongst our contacts._

They all nod, but Raiden has his own suggestion, "I and Wade have some things to attend to on campus."

 _Wade and I can remain here and attend to the first option._

Wade stiffens, the look on his face saying he had just remembered something important, "Actually, I just remembered that we're running low on some things," he points to Jadon and Ichigo, "Think you and Carrot can run into town and get'em? I have personal requests, too."

 _While we stay here, you two can attend to our contacts in Vale. And, can you say hi to my bae for me._

Jadon shrugged, "Sure, send the list to my scroll," he narrowed his eyes, "But, we're only getting _necessities,_ Wade."

 _Good idea, we'll go with that. Also, no, I'm not talking to that crazy bitch for you._

Wade hung his head in disappointment.

Jadon sweeps his gaze across the group, "So that's it?" A trio of nods serves as a green light for the plan, and Jadon opens the door, "Alright, then let's hea-"

Jadon's sudden stop gains the attention of the other three. He's glaring at the door out of the corner of his eye. "There's someone out there," he whispers. With a twist and push the doors swings open, revealing their visitor with his curled hand hanging in the air, ready to knock.

There is an awkward moment of silence before the guest coughs into his fist, "Actually, do you all mind coming with me for a moment?"

Jadon barely stops himself from tensing at the new person's sudden appearance. Why is Professor Ozpin standing outside the door; a pleasant smile on his face, and a steaming coffee mug in hand?

Jadon immediately plasters a similar smile onto his own face. "Professor Ozpin," he says with practiced enthusiasm, "to what do we owe the pleasure, Headmaster?" In his head, Jadon is wheeling for something to make them seem less suspicious.

 _ **When in doubt, blame the idiot.**_

"Did Wade do something he wasn't supposed to," he inquires, throwing a mock glare in the merc's direction. Wade makes an offended face, but says nothing.

The Headmaster chuckles softly, "Oh, no, nothing at all…. Unless you count his raiding the kitchens for all of the chimichangas he could find the night before initiation."

Jadon sends an actual glare Wade's way, the shrug it elicits confirming the dumbass's guilt.

"Of course," Ozpin continues with a wink, "I regularly do the same with the coffee."

Jadon hears a quiet 'yes' of victory behind him, and feels his smile fall, "Please don't encourage him, sir," he pleads, the last thing he needs is an angry cooking staff preparing his food.

The Headmaster chuckles again, "Alright, Mr. Chimalis, I will try to refrain from doing so." The smile falls as the Professor becomes more serious, "Anyway, again, would you four join me in my office please?"

Jadon mirrors the change in atmosphere, flattening his expression, and raising an eyebrow, "May I ask whatever for," he probes gently. They need more information going into this. This is an accomplished master huntsman they were talking to, and he, no doubt, is going to be pressing for information. If not, Jadon couldn't fathom why he would come calling.

"I just wish to ask you all some questions, Mr. Chimalis," he raises an eyebrow in subtle challenge, "is… that an issue?"

 _Damn_. This confirms it, something… or someone… tipped Ozpin off about there less-than-normal circumstances. _But when, how, what, and/or who?_ _The initiation could be written off as just being a gifted group. Other than that, the only time we showed an advanced amount of skill or knowledge is-..._

 _Port._

That fatass must have been listening while he was talking to Weiss. Everything Jadon said was _severely_ outside the normal realm of understanding for a teenage boy. For someone who's _not_ a seasoned hunter to be able to give advice like that is probably _really_ interesting to a teacher that trains hunters – suspicious, as well. _This gives me context at least. Oz will most likely be asking questions about our experiences before Beacon._ Lying to him would be unwise, and would most likely bring some unpleasant consequences, but they are prepared. They'll be fine.

With a great deal of manufactured calm, Jadon acquiesces, "No, Professor. No, it isn't."

The smile returns to the headmaster's face, "Ah, good. I would hate to inconvenience you all." He turns and starts walking up the hall, "Follow me, children."

His teammates hesitate and look to him. With a solemn nod, he starts following the professor. His team falls in line behind him as they are lead deeper into halls of Beacon.

* * *

It wasn't long until the four young men were within sight of the metal doors to the headmaster's elevator. Not a word had been said since Ozpin intercepted them, and it was starting to make the four uncomfortable.

Jadon knows that stepping through those doors will deny them almost every form of escape if that's what becomes necessary. However, he also knows that _not_ getting on that elevator would make them seem suspect in Ozpin's mind.

And you don't want a man like Ozpin as your enemy.

This isn't a decision he can make on his own, but it is a decision that needs to be made fast. Turning his head as far around as he could without stopping, he tries conveying his question with just his face.

They give him confused looks, not quite getting it at first. They are quick to catch on, though, and look to each other. This silent conversation took all of a second, and they all turn back to him with determined steel in their eyes. As one, his comrades give him firm nods of assent. Confidence reinforced, Jadon faces forward, expression calm and cool; whatever happens... they've got his back. Once they made it to the elevator, Ozpin presses the call button; the doors slide open immediately, revealing an emerald green, padded interior lit by one dim light bulb.

The old huntsman steps aside and inclines his head to Jadon. Without pause, the electromancer nods, and steps through the doorway. His companions file in one by one and stand at either side of him. Ozpin enters and turns his back to them, the brazen message behind that gesture is clear to all four of them. The grey-haired headmaster reaches over, pressing the button for the top floor. The doors slide closed with a clang of finality... there was no going back now…

At least not without some gratuitous violence and a bounty on their heads.

The elevator lurches as the machinery activates, and begins to quickly ascend.

 _We're off to see the Wizard…_

 _ **The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.**_

* * *

AN: And that's the third chapter folks! Sorry, it's been so long but life's been a bit complicated… that, and I'm lazy. As you can see, the gang has drawn some unwanted attention. Just what tale have they concocted to cover their asses? Find out next time.

'Till then: Breathe deep, live long, seek peace, let the Force guide you, and prosper young padawans.


End file.
